Tigers' Troy Melton: Impressive showing in Game 1 start
Rotowire
Melton allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out four over four innings in a no-decision against the Mariners on Saturday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
With his top three starters all unavailable for Game 1, manager A.J. Hinch turned to Melton to head up a bullpen game. The right-hander was efficient with his 57 pitches, at one point retiring seven batters in a row before serving up a solo homer to Julio Rodriguez to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning. Seven relievers followed Melton, including Keider Montero, who earned the save in extras and thus set the Tigers up extremely well with Tarik Skubal slated to start Game 2.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: No-decision in short outing
Rotowire
Melton didn't factor into the decision Thursday against the Guardians, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out one over 3.2 innings.
Making his first start since Aug. 13, the right-hander needed 49 pitches to record 11 outs, with his lone blemish coming in the second inning on an RBI double from C.J. Kayfus. Melton worked a clean first frame and otherwise kept Cleveland in check, but Detroit most likely had no intention of him working deep into the contest. The 24-year-old now owns a 2.76 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 36:15 K:BB in 45.2 innings.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Making start Thursday
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Melton will start Thursday's game in Cleveland, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Each of Melton's last 10 appearances have come in relief, though he did throw three innings as recently as Sept. 13. The rookie right-hander will be pitching on four days' rest and should be capable of going a few innings for the Tigers, if needed. Keider Montero should be available for bulk out of the bullpen, though it's unclear whether the Tigers intend to use him.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Takes loss in relief
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Melton (3-2) allowed two runs on two hits across 1.2 innings of relief to take the loss Thursday against the Guardians. He walked one and struck out one.
Melton relieved starter Tarik Skubal, who left after six innings with the game tied 1-1, and promptly allowed two runs to take the loss. This was the rookie's first loss in a relief appearance, as his other loss came in his MLB debut back on July 23, when he allowed six runs in five innings as a starter. As a reliever, Melton now has a 2.66 ERA across 23.2 innings in 11 outings, and he's struck out 17 batters. He should maintain a key role in Detroit's bullpen given his ability to provide length.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Continues to shine in bullpen
Rotowire
Melton tossed three scoreless innings of relief in Tuesday's 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Athletics. He allowed a hit and struck out one.
Melton has been a positive addition to the Detroit bullpen as a rookie. Across five appearances and 10.2 innings, he's posted a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP. Melton has also made three starts for the Tigers. His first one was a struggle, as he allowed six runs over five innings, but the 24-year-old allowed no runs across 12 innings in his other two starts. While the long-relief role decreases his fantasy value, Melton has become a valuable pitcher for Detroit, and he'd get a boost if he were to re-enter the rotation at some point.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Shifts back to bullpen
Rotowire
Melton collected his first hold of the season while allowing one earned run on two hits and one walk over 1.1 innings of relief in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Royals.
After earning his third win of the season while tossing five scoreless frames against the White Sox in an Aug. 13 start, Melton has since shifted back to the bullpen. Melton will likely fill a flexible relief role for Detroit for the time being, but after tossing 12 shutout innings between his last two starts, he should rank as the top option to join the rotation if a spot opens up at some point over the final five weeks of the season.
Tigers' Troy Melton: Impressive in Wednesday's win
Rotowire
Melton (3-1) picked up the win in Wednesday's 1-0 victory over the White Sox, allowing just one hit over five scoreless innings. He struck out six without walking a batter.
Making his first big-league start since July 28, the rookie right-hander retired the first 12 batters he faced before Luis Robert doubled to lead off the fifth inning, but Melton made sure he would advance no further. Despite being on a limited pitch count, Melton lasted long enough to qualify for the win, firing an efficient 56 pitches (43 strikes). The Tigers don't have a vacancy in their rotation, so this was likely just a spot start to buy the team's regular starters some extra rest. Melton will head back to a long-relief role with a 2.82 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 21:4 K:BB over his first 22.1 MLB innings.
Melton will start Wednesday's game against the White Sox in Chicago, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Melton was knocked around in his first major-league start July 23 in Pittsburgh but has yielded just one run with an 8:2 K:BB over 12.1 innings covering one start and two relief appearances since then. The righty hasn't made a start in more than two weeks and worked 3.1 innings while tossing 46 pitches in his most recent relief appearance Friday against the Angels. Melton likely won't be asked to handle a full starter's workload against the White Sox and may not reach the five innings he would need to qualify for a win.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Expected to pitch Wednesday
Rotowire
Melton is likely to work as the bulk pitcher for the Tigers in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Tony Paul of The Detroit News reports.
The Tigers are building in an extra rest day for all five members of their rotation this week, so Melton will be tasked with covering most of the innings Wednesday in what could be a bullpen day. One of the Tigers' top pitching prospects, Melton has had a breakout season in the minors and has been excellent for Detroit after a blowup outing in his big-league debut July 23. In his last three appearances, Melton has a 0.73 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, eight strikeouts and two wins in 12.1 innings. Melton last logged 3.1 innings in a relief appearance Friday, so he should be able to offer the Tigers a decent amount of length in his return to the bump.
Melton (2-1) allowed one run on two hits across 3.1 innings of relief to earn the win Friday against the Angels. He struck out two.
Starter Tarik Skubal had an uncharacteristically poor start and only lasted 4.2 innings, which opened the door for Melton in the middle of the contest. The rookie looked good for the second straight game in relief, and he's only allowed one run over 5.1 innings since shifting to the bullpen. The long-relief role limits Melton's fantasy upside the rest of the season, though it looks like he'll be an important player for the Tigers down the stretch.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Successful bullpen debut
Rotowire
Melton tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Twins. He walked two and struck out one.
After making two starts for the Tigers to begin his MLB career, Melton shifted to the bullpen for the first time Tuesday and didn't skip a beat. The rookie righty was moved to a relief role after Detroit added veterans Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton to its rotation before the trade deadline to supplement the trio of Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty. Melton has more upside than Paddack or Morton at this point, but with Detroit looking like a serious contender this year, the team opted for more experienced starters down the stretch. The 24-year-old Melton has less fantasy appeal in a long-relief role versus starting, though his stuff could play up a bit, making him a potential weapon for the Tigers to use in a variety of spots.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Thursday that Melton will shift to a relief role, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Melton was called up from Triple-A Toledo on July 23 and has made two starts for Detroit. After coughing up six earned runs in five innings in a loss to the Pirates in his MLB debut, Melton bounced back nicely his last time out against the Diamondbacks on Monday, when he struck out five over seven shutout innings. Though he had been lined up to take the hill for his third start this Sunday against the Phillies, he'll instead head to the bullpen while trade-deadline pickup Charlie Morton steps into the fifth spot in the rotation. The Tigers likely still view Melton as a starter in the long term, but he may be stuck in the bullpen for the remainder of 2025 unless Detroit loses another rotation member to an injury.
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