Ryan Falla
Rancho Cucamonga’s right-handed fireballer Madison Jeffrey was drafted by the Dodgers out of West Virginia University in 2021. This was due to his impressive ability to rack up strikeouts off of his power pitching repertoire. His time with the Dodgers organization has shown much of the promise that initially brought him into the league. His most recent outings offer a glimpse into the future stardom of Madison Jeffrey. The power pitching ways have been a boon to the Low-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes as they currently prepare for a playoff run, and with hard-throwing late-inning arms becoming a necessity for bullpen success it looks as if Jeffrey is well on his way to carving a path towards success.
Making Moves In 2023
He currently stands atop the league in multiple pitching categories, including saves and K/9 rate. With one more developmental push, it is very reasonable to believe Jeffrey will see himself close in on a role with the big league club. Only time will tell when Jeffrey will break through to big-league stardom, but based on his talent and pedigree it is best to bet on the young star’s rising fame.
“The people in this organization are top tier. They’re something else, it’s great to learn from the ex-big leaguers that are always around. It’s a blessing for sure.”
With most of his appearances this year coming in the 8th inning or later, Jeffrey has established a reputation as a white knuckle closer with the ability to shut the door in late innings via strikeout. His current mark of 10 saves on the season puts him 2nd overall across the Cal League with current Rockies prospect Zac Agnos leading the league at 24 saves.
Pitching Profile
Jeffrey’s ability to make the strikeout off his high-octane repertoire, which includes a triple-digit fastball and explosive mid-90s cutter, paints the picture of a prototypical big-league closer. His strikeout ability firmly entrenches him in the Cal League Top 5 K/9 rates (13.73), and when paired with his ability to limit the HR (zero allowed on the year) you have yourself an arm built for clutch situations. He’s more than proven his worth to the organization with the work he’s done assisting his team towards a playoff run this year, and if the future resembles anything of his present he will continue to be key in many playoff runs going forward.
“[I use] A fastball, slider, cutter. Slider is more of a sweeping slider, I use my cutter more towards lefties to get into the zone early in a count. From there I use the fastball/slider as a get-ahead pitch or put-away pitch. I’ll read the swings during the at-bat and go from there.”
The last two months of play have seen Jeffrey make significant strides in his development. The last few weeks of play have seen Jeffrey maintain an impressive 2.45 ERA across eight appearances. Mechanical tweaks have elevated his ability to control the strike zone. He has racked up a total of 11 scoreless appearances going back to the middle of July.
Continued Improvements
As is with every prospect there are still some tweaks to be had. The amount of progress made by Jeffrey recently has been drastic. His command and control has taken a big leap based on a few tweaks. There are few organizations you can trust to bring the best out of a star in the making such as Jeffrey, none more clear above the pack in terms of developmental prowess than the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I was confident coming into the season but I knew there were still some things I needed to work on. It’s kind of a weight lifted off my shoulders finding something that’s keeping me in the strike zone more consistently. Right now I’m super confident with where I’m at.”
At West Virginia University Jeffrey posted elite strikeout numbers across multiple years with the team. Aside from his first year with the school, each season saw Jeffrey posting a K/9 north of 12 while regularly maintaining a minuscule HR allowed rate. After coming into the Dodgers organization he continued lighting up opposing hitters with big strikeout rates. There are few that come packaged with the same built-in uber-competitiveness that Jeffrey brings into the organization. Being that he is with the Dodgers there will be no shortage of high-leverage, late-inning appearances for the young star.
Madison Jeffrey is a legitimate star in the making. There is no organization better suited to nurturing this potential than the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s only a matter of time until his rise takes him to the big league level.
