Tommy Mace

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Cleveland Guardians #29 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Mace was a key member of the Florida pitching staff for four years and spent the last three seasons in the Gators’ rotation. Though he was highly regarded ahead of the 2020 draft, he opted to return to school for a fourth year and had a solid campaign. He did not pitch after the Guardians made him the 69th overall pick in 2021.
  
  Scouting Report: Mace added some good weight in the last year and saw his velocity tick up. His fastball this spring averaged 93 mph and touched 97. He doesn’t get a ton of life on the pitch but his ability to locate it to all quadrants of the strike zone helps it play up. He also throws a cutter, curveball and changeup, none of which project as a plus pitch. While Mace did post a career high strikeout rate this spring, he doesn’t have the kind of stuff that stands out as swing and miss and instead relies on his above-average control to help it play up. He has a big 6-foot-6 frame and can create a tough angle for hitters.
  
  The Future: Mace has the look of a back-of-the-rotation starter now, but the Guardians have had plenty of success in helping college pitchers take a step forward in pro ball. He’ll look to start down that path in 2022 when makes his professional debut, likely with High-A Lake County.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #64 prospect in 2021 draft
  Mace was draft-eligible in the 2020 class, where he ranked as the No. 75 prospect but reportedly turned down big money to go back to Florida to try and improve his draft stock. He added good weight and improved the velocity of his fastball a tick or two, sitting in the 93 mph range this spring and touching 97. Scouts critiqued the life on Mace’s fastball last season, and this spring they’ve seen him try and throw more four-seam fastballs, but he still doesn’t get a ton of swings and misses with the pitch. Instead, he relies on spotting it at a high level in each quadrant of the strike zone. Mace also throws a hard slider/cutter in the mid-to-upper 80s, a slurvy 78-80 mph curveball and a mid-to-upper-80s changeup with slight arm-side fade. None of Mace’s secondary pitches projects as plus and his lack of bat-missing stuff makes scouts wonder about his true upside, though he did achieve a career-best strikeout rate (11.3 K/9) through 90.1 innings this spring, while still walking just 2.1 batters per nine. Mace has given up close to a hit per inning over his Florida career, so he’ll likely have to rely on inducing weak contact at the next level and avoiding walks barring a jump forward in his secondary stuff. Sinker/slider types aren’t the most coveted in today’s game, but Mace has enough pitching ability to become a back-of-the-rotation arm.
• Ranked #75 prospect in 2020 draft
  A super projectable arm out of high school, Mace took steps forward with his velocity as a high school senior, when he ran his fastball up 94 after mostly pitching in the upper 80s on the showcase circuit. He made it to campus at Florida and made an immediate impact as a freshman in the bullpen before transitioning to a starting role in 2019, when he took over the Friday night role in just the fourth week of the season. He performed well through four starts in the shortened 2020 season, posting a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings with 26 strikeouts and five walks. A 6-foot-7, 225-pound righthander who still has plenty of projection in his frame, Mace throws a fastball that gets up into the 95-96 mph range. Scouts think his fastball gets too flat and prefer the sinking, two-seam fastball that he throws more than his four-seamer. Mace shows good feel for a hard slider/cutter and a changeup, though scouts think the breaking ball is more fringy, while his changeup has a chance to be an average offering. Mace as also worked on a slower curveball. Because of the quality of his slider and his lack of big strikeout numbers at Florida, evaluators believe he’ll always be a pitcher who relies on ground balls and generating weak contact. Without a plus pitch, Mace doesn’t have a ton of upside, but he still has physical projection remaining and has always been a quality strike-thrower—2.8 walks per nine innings in his Florida career. Mace fits as a late day one or early day two pick.
• Ranked #88 prospect in 2017 draft
  Mace's wiry, 6-foot-6 build screamed with projection on the summer showcase circuit. He had mechanical challenges to overcome, with a long arm action that included a high back elbow and wrist curl in the back to go along with inconsistent balance over the rubber and in his landing. Mace added strength and worked hard to clean up his mechanics during the offseason and his stuff took a jump as a result. After pitching in the upper 80s in the summer, Mace reached as high as 94 in the spring and got better at holding his velocity deeper into games as the season continued. His curveball shows flashes of tight spin and late 12-to-6 break, and some evaluators grade it as a future above-average pitch. Mace generates excellent extension with a loose, flexible lower half that allows him to get down the mound well, adding deception to his stuff. He remains projectable physically and has a tremendously high ceiling because of his body and athleticism. Not all teams are high on Mace, but he's been linked to a couple teams as high as the second round.

• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Mace was a key member of the Florida pitching staff for four years and spent the last three seasons in the Gators’ rotation. Though he was highly regarded ahead of the 2020 draft, he opted to return to school for a fourth year and had a solid campaign. He did not pitch after the Guardians made him the 69th overall pick in 2021.
  
  Scouting Report: Mace added some good weight in the last year and saw his velocity tick up. His fastball this spring averaged 93 mph and touched 97. He doesn’t get a ton of life on the pitch but his ability to locate it to all quadrants of the strike zone helps it play up. He also throws a cutter, curveball and changeup, none of which project as a plus pitch. While Mace did post a career high strikeout rate this spring, he doesn’t have the kind of stuff that stands out as swing and miss and instead relies on his above-average control to help it play up. He has a big 6-foot-6 frame and can create a tough angle for hitters.
  
  The Future: Mace has the look of a back-of-the-rotation starter now, but the Guardians have had plenty of success in helping college pitchers take a step forward in pro ball. He’ll look to start down that path in 2022 when makes his professional debut, likely with High-A Lake County.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Mace was draft-eligible in the 2020 class, where he ranked as the No. 75 prospect but reportedly turned down big money to go back to Florida to try and improve his draft stock. He added good weight and improved the velocity of his fastball a tick or two, sitting in the 93 mph range this spring and touching 97. Scouts critiqued the life on Mace's fastball last season, and this spring they've seen him try and throw more four-seam fastballs, but he still doesn't get a ton of swings and misses with the pitch. Instead, he relies on spotting it at a high level in each quadrant of the strike zone. Mace also throws a hard slider/cutter in the mid-to-upper 80s, a slurvy 78-80 mph curveball and a mid-to-upper-80s changeup with slight arm-side fade. None of Mace's secondary pitches projects as plus and his lack of bat-missing stuff makes scouts wonder about his true upside, though he did achieve a career-best strikeout rate (11.3 K/9) through 90.1 innings this spring, while still walking just 2.1 batters per nine. Mace has given up close to a hit per inning over his Florida career, so he'll likely have to rely on inducing weak contact at the next level and avoiding walks barring a jump forward in his secondary stuff. Sinker/slider types aren't the most coveted in today's game, but Mace has enough pitching ability to become a back-of-the-rotation arm.
• December, 2019 Scouting Report
  A super projectable arm out of high school, Mace took steps forward with his velocity as a high school senior, when he ran his fastball up 94 after mostly pitching in the upper 80s on the showcase circuit. He made it to campus at Florida and made an immediate impact as a freshman in the bullpen before transitioning to a starting role in 2019, when he took over the Friday night role in just the fourth week of the season. He performed well through four starts in the shortened 2020 season, posting a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings with 26 strikeouts and five walks. A 6-foot-7, 225-pound righthander who still has plenty of projection in his frame, Mace throws a fastball that gets up into the 95-96 mph range. Scouts think his fastball gets too flat and prefer the sinking, two-seam fastball that he throws more than his four-seamer. Mace shows good feel for a hard slider/cutter and a changeup, though scouts think the breaking ball is more fringy, while his changeup has a chance to be an average offering. Mace as also worked on a slower curveball. Because of the quality of his slider and his lack of big strikeout numbers at Florida, evaluators believe he’ll always be a pitcher who relies on ground balls and generating weak contact. Without a plus pitch, Mace doesn’t have a ton of upside, but he still has physical projection remaining and has always been a quality strike-thrower—2.8 walks per nine innings in his Florida career. Mace fits as a late day one or early day two pick.