Round 9, Pick #256: college RHP Ben Madison

With the 256th pick in this year’s draft, the Giants selected Ben Madison, a right-handed starter out of Central Baptist College in Conway, Arkansas.

Madison led the NAIA with 172 strikeouts in 96.2 innings pitched this year. Scouts say, as you might expect from those numbers, he can miss bats. His fastball can hit 96 MPH. He is said to have a good curve and a below average changeup. He is more likely than not to end up as a reliever.

This is all just me repeating what they said on the MLB.com stream, by the way. I am just reporting information from more informed people. You’re welcome.

JJ Cooper from Baseball America has been in on Madison for a while. He thinks Madison is the top player out of the NAIA:

He thinks Madison is underrated in the draft:

And so, as you might expect, he loves the pick:

If you want to see his delivery, well, it’s a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that there’s a video! The bad news is that it has that Instagram reversing thing going on, so it’s a little tough to see what exactly is going on:

And, of course, the official McCovey Chronicles account (like, RT, and follow!) has the most important news on Ben Madison:

Madison was an NAIA All-American this last year. He had a 2.70 ERA and his 172 strikeouts were a school record. He was co-Pitcher of the Year in the American Midwest Conference and a first-team all-AMC selection. Twice this year, he struck out 18 guys in a game, and on the season, he struck out 41% of the hitters he faced.

In his two years at Central Baptist, Madison racked up 301 strikeouts in 176.2 innings. He also walked 98, which is something to work on, but as a 9th round pick, a live arm with upside is about the most you can hope for.

Welcome to the Giants, strikeout machine Ben Madison.