Overview of Right-Handed Pitcher Tommy Mace
University of Florida right-handed pitcher Tommy Mace comes in at number 69 on MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospect list. Mace, who is currently a junior, pitched in four games prior to the season being shut down. As the school’s primary Friday starter, Mace posted a 1.67 ERA with a 3-0 record over that span.
His best outing came against South Florida when he threw seven scoreless innings and surrendered just two hits. Coming in at six-foot-six-inches and 200 pounds, Mace was originally drafted in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. However, he committed to being a Gator and Cincinnati ended up running out of bonus pool money.
With the trajectory and ceiling that Mace displays, he stands a very good chance at signing with a big league team this time around. Some scouts believe that Mace could possess the same qualities as Houston Astros number one overall prospect, right-hander Forrest Whitley.
Strengths
Tommy Mace relies on a four-pitch mix and it’s a mix that intrigues scouts. The mix includes four different pitches including a two-seam fastball that has the potential to hit the mid-90’s. Additionally, many scouts believe that with more development, Mace will further develop his cutter which has been his primary secondary pitch. More often than not, Mace throws his cutter in the upper-80’s. Beyond those two pitches, his slider rates very well also.
Furthermore, Mace does a very good job of attacking the strike zone with each pitch. In the four starts this year, Mace recorded 26 strikeouts. Over 16 starts last season, he recorded 74 strikeouts. Scouts note that one reason why he thrives at throwing strikes is that he attacks opposing hitters down and away. In turn, that generates a lot of groundball outs.
In addition, scouts note that Mace does a really good job of keeping his composure on the mound. Most notably, Mace appears relaxed when he steps on the mound and has good, overall body makeup. Both of those things are qualities that will play in his favor leading up to the draft.
Weaknesses
Given that Mace is a college junior, he has come a long way in many regards with fine-tuning his pitch mix. However, as with any prospect, there is still room to grow and this is likely to be the chief area of focus for him moving forward. Although with his ceiling and potential, Mace can surely work on all of that with the right organization.
Secondly, another potential weakness would be overall consistency which is something else that will come with more development. For instance, Mace ended last season with a 5.32 ERA over the 16 starts that he made. A lot of that was due to ineffectiveness as the game wore on which resulted in more contact by the opposing team. However, over the small sample from this year, he started to overcome some of these inconsistencies.
MLB Comparison
Overall when you watch video on Mace, his overall build is lanky. Therefore, finding a comp is a bit of a challenge, but one potential could be Los Angeles Dodgers, Dustin May. Both Mace and May are right-handers and May comes in at the same height, but is 20 pounds lighter. When May was originally drafted by the Dodgers, he was taken with the 101st overall pick. Mace will likely end up being taken much sooner.
Although, there is quite a bit of similarity between both right-handers overall pitch stats. For example, Mace has hit the mid-90’s with his fastball previously. According to Baseball Savant, May averaged 96 miles per hour on his fastball last season and it was his primary pitch. Furthermore, May relies on his cutter as his primary secondary pitch and threw it 32% of the time in 2019 averaging 91 miles per hour with it.
Given that scouts believe the cutter might be Tommy Mace’s primary weapon moving forward, he could end up throwing it with that type of average velocity. Of course, any team would be delighted if Mace ends up being the next Dustin May. Mace won’t come with the luscious red locks, but certainly has the stuff to match May.
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