Tyler Ivey

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Houston Astros #7 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Ivey is a Rowlett, Texas, native who made his major league debut during a spot start at the Rangers’ Globe Life Park in May 2021. The emotions of a hometown debut, coupled with a family tragedy and an elbow injury he hid from the organization, caused the lanky righthander to take four months off from baseball. Ivey was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, but he did not require surgery and made one minor league rehab appearance in the Florida Complex League in late September. Coupled with persistent elbow pain in spring training and in May at Triple-A Sugar Land, Ivey threw just 17.2 innings all season.
  
  Scouting Report: Ivey has a herky-jerky delivery and a high leg kick that generates most of the attention. The Astros have made some minor adjustments so he can better control the running game, but by and large allow Ivey to continue his unorthodox ways given his good command. He averaged just 90 mph with his four-seam fastball during his major league debut due to his injured elbow. When healthy, Ivey is in the low-to-mid 90s with the pitch and can touch 96. His delivery affords some deception on the fastball, which Ivey elevates well, and a high-spin curveball that pairs effectively with it. Ivey’s changeup is still evolving to go along with a slider that can have cutter-like tendencies. Ivey has demonstrated the command and control some scouts doubted he’d discover due to his delivery and now has fringe-average control overall.
  
  The Future: Ivey is a potential middle-to-back-of-the-rotation starter candidate if he can stay healthy. With two elbow injuries in three seasons, that’s a big if.
  
• 
  Ranked Houston Astros #6 prospect in 2021
  Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Changeup: 40. Curveball: 60. Control: 55.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Ivey transferred from Texas Tech to Grayson (Texas) JC for his sophomore year in 2017, when he signed with the Astros for $450,000 as a third-rounder. Ivey has missed a lot of bats and thrown a lot of strikes, but he had trouble staying on the field in 2019 due to a sprained elbow ligament.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: What immediately jumps out about Ivey is his unorthodox delivery. It’s a funky, herky-jerky motion with a head whack that he’s toned down a bit, but the Astros have mostly left him alone because he’s able to repeat it and throw strikes consistently. Ivey’s mechanics add deception to a high-spin fastball that sits in the low 90s with the ability to reach 95 mph. It’s effective up in the zone and pairs nicely with his above-average curveball that has good rotation and top-to-bottom shape to miss bats, leading to high strikeout rates up through Double-A. Ivey can have success with his fastball/ curve combo, but he has deepened his repertoire to include a hard, cutter-like slider and occasional changeup.
  
  THE FUTURE: There’s some durability risk with Ivey, but he has the stuff and control to develop into a mid-rotation starter. If he ends up in the bullpen, he could become a multi-inning relief threat with high-leverage potential.
• 
  Ranked Houston Astros #11 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Ivey has been effective in two seasons with the Astros, but he needs to stay on the mound more regularly. He missed half of May and all of June with elbow soreness and returned to the injured list for the final two weeks of the season. In addition to missing time with a sore elbow, Ivey was ejected from his second start of the season when umpires found a foreign substance on his glove.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ivey's funky delivery seems like something out of the 1940s. It's somewhat segmented, but he's steadily refined it, eliminating the head whack and some effort. His arm is generally on time and he has shown he can locate with above-average control and average command. In a system that has a lot of fireballing starters who haven't shown they have the control and feel to start, Ivey is an exception. He has three above-average pitches. His 90-95 mph fastball is effective up in the zone and he used both a big, slower curve and a hard cutter-ish slider.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ivey is a potential No. 4 starter with a chance to be a No. 3, He's ready for Triple-A and could fill-in in Houston in the second half of the season.
• 
  Ranked Houston Astros #21 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Ivey was a part of Texas A&M's weekend rotation as a freshman and held that role into the conference schedule. But he eventually moved to the bullpen and opted afterwards to transfer to Grayson (Texas) JC. After a rough debut, Ivey pitched to a 2.97 ERA at the Class A levels in 2018.
  
  Scouting Report: Ivey is a lanky righthander. His gangliness is magnified by his effortful delivery, which begins with an exaggerated gather. He uses a big leg kick and a high hand break and often finishes with a modest head whack. There's also some length in his takeaway, but his arm is on time and he is consistently around the zone with above-average control. Ivey is always working to get to his breaking balls. His downward-breaking curveball is a plus pitch, and his slider will flash above-average as well. Ivey relies on the breaking balls, but his 89-93 mph fastball could develop into an average pitch as well. It shows some finish when he elevates it. His low-80s changeup is a distant fourth pitch he rarely throws.
  
  The Future: Ivey has the building blocks to be a back-of-the-rotation starter, especially if he fills out and adds a tick or two to his fastball. He'll compete for a spot in Double-A Corpus Christi's rotation.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #302 prospect in 2017 draft
  Ivey pitched in Texas A&M's weekend rotation for a spell as a freshman before transferring to Grayson. His main weapon is an 90-93 mph fastball (it can touch 95) and a clean, picturesque delivery. He also spots a fringe-average slider, changeup and curveball, although none of the three has developed into a swing-and-miss offering yet. Ivey also has to prove that his stuff doesn't diminish too much when he pitches out of the stretch.

• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Ivey is a Rowlett, Texas, native who made his major league debut during a spot start at the Rangers’ Globe Life Park in May 2021. The emotions of a hometown debut, coupled with a family tragedy and an elbow injury he hid from the organization, caused the lanky righthander to take four months off from baseball. Ivey was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, but he did not require surgery and made one minor league rehab appearance in the Florida Complex League in late September. Coupled with persistent elbow pain in spring training and in May at Triple-A Sugar Land, Ivey threw just 17.2 innings all season.
  
  Scouting Report: Ivey has a herky-jerky delivery and a high leg kick that generates most of the attention. The Astros have made some minor adjustments so he can better control the running game, but by and large allow Ivey to continue his unorthodox ways given his good command. He averaged just 90 mph with his four-seam fastball during his major league debut due to his injured elbow. When healthy, Ivey is in the low-to-mid 90s with the pitch and can touch 96. His delivery affords some deception on the fastball, which Ivey elevates well, and a high-spin curveball that pairs effectively with it. Ivey’s changeup is still evolving to go along with a slider that can have cutter-like tendencies. Ivey has demonstrated the command and control some scouts doubted he’d discover due to his delivery and now has fringe-average control overall.
  
  The Future: Ivey is a potential middle-to-back-of-the-rotation starter candidate if he can stay healthy. With two elbow injuries in three seasons, that’s a big if.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Ivey has barely pitched this year because of a sore arm. If he can return to health, he has more starter traits than most of the Astros' current pitching prospects thanks to his control of his fastball and his ability to work it in and out, up and down. He doesn't overpower with his fastball but the combination of it and his above-average breaking ball works well together.
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Changeup: 40. Curveball: 60. Control: 55.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Ivey transferred from Texas Tech to Grayson (Texas) JC for his sophomore year in 2017, when he signed with the Astros for $450,000 as a third-rounder. Ivey has missed a lot of bats and thrown a lot of strikes, but he had trouble staying on the field in 2019 due to a sprained elbow ligament.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: What immediately jumps out about Ivey is his unorthodox delivery. It’s a funky, herky-jerky motion with a head whack that he’s toned down a bit, but the Astros have mostly left him alone because he’s able to repeat it and throw strikes consistently. Ivey’s mechanics add deception to a high-spin fastball that sits in the low 90s with the ability to reach 95 mph. It’s effective up in the zone and pairs nicely with his above-average curveball that has good rotation and top-to-bottom shape to miss bats, leading to high strikeout rates up through Double-A. Ivey can have success with his fastball/ curve combo, but he has deepened his repertoire to include a hard, cutter-like slider and occasional changeup.
  
  THE FUTURE: There’s some durability risk with Ivey, but he has the stuff and control to develop into a mid-rotation starter. If he ends up in the bullpen, he could become a multi-inning relief threat with high-leverage potential.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Changeup: 40. Curveball: 60. Control: 55.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Ivey transferred from Texas Tech to Grayson (Texas) JC for his sophomore year in 2017, when he signed with the Astros for $450,000 as a third-rounder. Ivey has missed a lot of bats and thrown a lot of strikes, but he had trouble staying on the field in 2019 due to a sprained elbow ligament.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: What immediately jumps out about Ivey is his unorthodox delivery. It’s a funky, herky-jerky motion with a head whack that he’s toned down a bit, but the Astros have mostly left him alone because he’s able to repeat it and throw strikes consistently. Ivey’s mechanics add deception to a high-spin fastball that sits in the low 90s with the ability to reach 95 mph. It’s effective up in the zone and pairs nicely with his above-average curveball that has good rotation and top-to-bottom shape to miss bats, leading to high strikeout rates up through Double-A. Ivey can have success with his fastball/ curve combo, but he has deepened his repertoire to include a hard, cutter-like slider and occasional changeup.
  
  THE FUTURE: There’s some durability risk with Ivey, but he has the stuff and control to develop into a mid-rotation starter. If he ends up in the bullpen, he could become a multi-inning relief threat with high-leverage potential.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Ivey has been effective in two seasons with the Astros, but he needs to stay on the mound more regularly. He missed half of May and all of June with elbow soreness and returned to the injured list for the final two weeks of the season. In addition to missing time with a sore elbow, Ivey was ejected from his second start of the season when umpires found a foreign substance on his glove.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ivey’s funky delivery seems like something out of the 1940s. It’s somewhat segmented, but he’s steadily refined it, eliminating the head whack and some effort. His arm is generally on time and he has shown he can locate with above-average control and average command. In a system that has a lot of fireballing starters who haven’t shown they have the control and feel to start, Ivey is an exception. He has three above-average pitches. His 90-95 mph fastball is effective up in the zone and he used both a big, slower curve and a hard cutter-ish slider.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ivey is a potential No. 4 starter with a chance to be a No. 3, He’s ready for Triple-A and could fill-in in Houston in the second half of the season.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Ivey has been effective in two seasons with the Astros, but he needs to stay on the mound more regularly. He missed half of May and all of June with elbow soreness and returned to the injured list for the final two weeks of the season. In addition to missing time with a sore elbow, Ivey was ejected from his second start of the season when umpires found a foreign substance on his glove.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ivey's funky delivery seems like something out of the 1940s. It's somewhat segmented, but he's steadily refined it, eliminating the head whack and some effort. His arm is generally on time and he has shown he can locate with above-average control and average command. In a system that has a lot of fireballing starters who haven't shown they have the control and feel to start, Ivey is an exception. He has three above-average pitches. His 90-95 mph fastball is effective up in the zone and he used both a big, slower curve and a hard cutter-ish slider.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ivey is a potential No. 4 starter with a chance to be a No. 3, He's ready for Triple-A and could fill-in in Houston in the second half of the season.