It’s only taken a month for Tyler Ivey to make his mark on the Texas League. With the majority of his 2018 season spent toiling at the Houston Astros’ Advanced-A affiliate (he ranked second among starters in whiff rate at 10.8), Ivey was rewarded with a promotion to Double-A Corpus Christi in late March.

Ivey was tied for fifth place in the league with 23 strikeouts through games of April 25. In the sixteen innings it took Ivey to reach that total, the two players with whom he was tied (fellow starters Darren McCaughen and Ricardo Sanchez, respectively, both of the Seattle Mariners’ affiliate Arkansas Travelers) pitched 24 innings and 25 IP.

Tyler Cade Ivey

Ivey was born an only child in the east Dallas suburb of Rowlett, TX, and grew up a Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers fan. The perpetually grinning redhead attended Rockwall-Heath High School in Rockwall, a dozen miles across Lake Ray Hubbard.

Pitching for the Hawks in his senior year, the right-hander hurled a 10-1 record setting a school mark with an 0.27 ERA, 121 strikeouts, and 11 walks in just 69 innings, leading to Perfect Game All-American First Team honors.

In fact, Perfect Game weighed in on the 6’4″, 195-pound prep pitcher with this assessment following their 2014 showcase:

“Big, strong athletic build. Complicated multi-part delivery, bends over in delivery, deep arm action, lots of energy at release but lots of deception as well, repeats notably well for his mechanics and throws strikes. “Fastball topped out at 92 mph, mostly straight with occasional arm side run, challenges hitters with his fastball and got lots of called strikes. Tends to slow arm and wrap hand on curveball, gets good 11/5 depth at times and sweeping shape at others. Profiles as a reliever with a plus fastball in the future.” Gig-’em, Aggie

Following graduation, Ivey made Texas A&M’s rotation as a freshman in 2016, where he pitched 43 innings, logging a 48/15 K/BB ratio, with a 3.56 ERA, starting 10 of his 11 games.

That summer, Ivey played for the California Collegiate League’s Menlo Park Legends, working to a 2.05 ERA and a 3-0 record in three starts, including one complete game in his four appearances totaling 22 IP. The business administration major had a 23/8 K/BB ratio.

He then transferred to Grayson County Community College in Denison, TX, making him draft-eligible as a sophomore. As a 2017 soph, he ranked second among national junior college pitchers in strikeout rate (14.1 per nine innings) starting all 12 games that season and logging 78 IP.

He was 9-0, posting a 2.08 ERA with 122 strikeouts. All these numbers were hard to ignore by the Houston front office.

“Opportunity of a Lifetime”

Baseball America had ranked Ivey as the 302nd-best prospect in the draft, so his under-100 draft slot was surprising to some, and a welcome gift to Ivey himself.

In fact, Ivey had no problem removing all suspense about his signability. He had this reply after an Astros scout called shortly before he heard his name called: “He said, ‘we’re thinking about taking you in the third round with the 91st [overall] pick. Will you sign?’ It was the best feeling ever. I said, ‘absolutely, take me.’ I said, ‘let’s go. I’m going to sign.'”

Taking to Twitter soon after being drafted, Ivey gushed, “Words can’t explain how thankful I am for the Astros organization for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m officially an Astro. #ThankYouLord.”

Ivey signed for a below-slot $450,000 as a third-rounder.

First Pro Years

Ivey spent the vast majority of his 2017 with Houston’s New York-Penn League short season Class A Tri-City ValleyCats. Just getting his feet wet, he turned in a 5.94 ERA in 36.1 innings, while walking 12, striking out 41, and logging an 0-3 record. Starting seven games in his 11 appearances, his .281 batting average against reveals that few bats were missed.

Ivey began 2018 with the Astros’ full season Class A Quad Cities River Bandits and had a 3.46 ERA in 41.2 innings (six starts in nine appearances). He had eight BB/53 K. He was promoted to High-A Buies Creek where he finished with a 2.69 ERA with 82 Ks and 21 walks in 70.1 innings, yielding just a .196 BAA.

Total 2018 Stats: 24 G, 2.97 ERA, 112.0 IP, 86 H, 37 ER, 29 BB, 135 K, 10.8 K/9

The Clipboard & Stopwatch

Baseball Savant filed this scouting report recently, updating his specs: “Ivey gets his strikeouts by changing hitters’ eye level and attacking them with 90-95 mph four-seam fastballs with riding life at the letters before dropping upper-70s curveballs through the bottom of the strike zone. He has sharpened his slider in pro ball and shows the makings of an effective change-up.

“Though Ivey could have four average-or-better pitches when fully developed, and is throwing strikes more consistently as a pro, he still could wind up in the bullpen. There’s a lot going on in his delivery, which features effort and some head whack, so he’ll have to prove he has enough command and durability to make it as a starter. Getting stronger and streamlining his mechanics would help his cause.”

The Houston Chronicle‘s Chandler Rome recently filed this observation of the 23-year-old: “Ivey has a unique, Dontrelle Willis-esque delivery, with a ton of moving parts and a big leg kick to finish it off.”

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

“…This Year is Even Better”

It’s that “getting stronger” that has been top of mind for Ivey in the past couple of years. He’s been hitting the weights and the training facilities at APEC (Athlete Performance Enhancement Center) in the east Texas town of Tyler.

Atlanta Braves’ pitchers AJ Minter and Josh Tomlin , both Tyler natives, are frequent APEC clients, as well.

The Grapevine

Ivey enjoyed his first Spring Training experience with Houston in 2019. He drew the loss in his only appearance, getting two outs while yielding three hits and three runs, but bagging a strikeout.

Ivey is Houston’s 17th-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

If Ivey’s progression continues with consistency, Houston may give him a shot at AAA Round Rock mid-season.

The Astros tend to piggyback starters in their system, so Ivey may not always be the first to take the ball in that tandem situation, but he should typically log at least four innings per outing.