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.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Drawing start Wednesday
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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.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Earns second win
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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
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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.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Moving to relief role
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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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Tigers' Troy Melton: Next start coming Monday
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Melton will start Monday's series opener against the Diamondbacks in Detroit, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Melton had been lined up to make his second career start Tuesday, but he'll end up being pushed up a day after Casey Mize needed a little extra time to recover from a minor knee issue. Despite surrendered six earned runs on seven hits and two walks over five frames in his major-league debut against the Pirates last Wednesday, Melton looks set to maintain a spot in the rotation over Keider Montero, who was optioned to Triple-A Toledo earlier in the weekend.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Called up for MLB debut
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The Tigers selected Melton's contract from Triple-A Toledo ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday versus the Pirates at PNC Park.
Detroit placed ace Tarik Skubal (personal) on the paternity list to open up a spot on the 26-man active roster for Melton, who will be making his MLB debut Wednesday. As a result of Melton's addition, the Tigers will be running out a six-man rotation this week, but expect the team to scale back to five men once Skubal returns from the paternity list to start Saturday versus Toronto. Whether Melton sticks around for additional starts will likely hinge on how he performs Wednesday, as well as how incumbent No. 5 starter Keider Montero fares in his upcoming outing Friday versus the Blue Jays. The 25-year-old Melton has been unfazed by minor-league competition during his stops at Toledo and Double-A Erie this season, accruing a 2.99 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 101:20 K:BB in 75.1 innings between the two affiliates.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Making MLB debut Wednesday
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The Tigers plan to call up Melton from Triple-A Toledo to start Wednesday's game against the Pirates at PNC Park, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
The upcoming move to the big leagues will represent the third stop of the season for the 25-year-old righty, who has produced a 2.99 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 101:20 K:BB over 75.1 innings between Toledo and Double-A Erie. Melton won't be guaranteed any starts beyond Wednesday, but a strong showing against a reeling Pirates squad could might be enough for him to stick around as the fifth member of the rotation over Keider Montero and Sawyer Gipson-Long (neck).
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Bullpen candidate in second half
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Melton, who earned a promotion to Triple-A Toledo in June, could be an option for the Tigers' bullpen down the stretch, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.
Melton has enjoyed success this season, posting a 3.23 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 10 starts for Double-A Erie, then lowering those figures to 3.06 and 1.12, respectively, through seven appearances (six starts) for Toledo. The 24-year-old righty has shown swing-and-miss stuff as well, recording 93 strikeouts in 71.1 innings across both levels. Detroit may not have a spot for Melton in the rotation this year, though he could be an effective bullpen weapon for the Tigers down the stretch as they make their postseason push, similar to what the team did with Jackson Jobe in 2024. For that to be an option, however, Melton would have to be added to the 40-man roster.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: Bumped up to Triple-A
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The Tigers promoted Melton from Double-A Erie to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
After turning in a 5.10 ERA and giving up 19 home runs in 23 starts at Double-A in 2024, Melton showed stark improvement in keeping the ball in the yard upon returning to Erie to begin the 2025 season. He yielded just one home run in 39 innings over his 10 starts, allowing him to bring his ERA down to 3.23 this season despite his 20.7 K-BB% being right in line with his 2024 rate. Melton will look to replicate that success against International League hitters and could be in the mix for a late-season call-up to the Detroit rotation if the Tigers' pitching staff is hit hard by injuries.
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Tigers' Troy Melton: On IL with shoulder strain
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The Tigers placed Melton on the 7-day injured list at Double-A Erie due to a right shoulder strain, Emily Waldon of Baseball America reports.
Melton has made 23 starts for Erie this season, logging a 5.10 ERA across 100.2 innings with a 119:30 K:BB. The 23-year-old right-hander was selected by Detroit with the 117th overall pick in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft.
