Troy Melton (baseball)

Troy Melton
Melton with the Toledo Mud Hens in 2025
Detroit Tigers – No. 52
Pitcher
Born: (2000-12-03) December 3, 2000 (age 25)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 23, 2025, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2025 season)
Win–loss record3–2
Earned run average2.76
Strikeouts36
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Troy Edward Melton (born December 3, 2000) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2025.

Amateur career

Melton attended Canyon High School in Anaheim, California, and played college baseball at San Diego State University. As a junior in 2022, he went 5–2 with a 2.07 ERA and 67 strikeouts over 65+1⁄3 innings.[1] After the season, he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft and signed.[2][3]

Professional career

Melton made his professional debut with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, throwing a total of five innings for the season. He returned to Lakeland to open the 2023 season before being promoted to the West Michigan Whitecaps in mid-May.[4][5] Over 23 games (22 starts) between the two teams, he went 3–1 with a 2.74 ERA and 94 strikeouts over 92 innings.[6] Melton was assigned to the Erie SeaWolves to open the 2024 season.[7] Over 23 starts, he pitched to a 7–8 record, a 5.10 ERA and 119 strikeouts over 100+2⁄3 innings.[8] He missed time near the end of the season due to a shoulder injury.[9] Melton returned to Erie to open the 2025 season and was promoted to the Toledo Mud Hens in early June.[10] Over 18 games pitched with the two teams, he posted a 2-3 record, a 2.99 ERA and 101 strikeouts.[11]

On July 23, 2025, Melton was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[12] He made his first start that evening against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[13] In his second career major league start on July 28 (his first start at home), Melton earned his first win by defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 5–1 victory.[14] Melton threw seven scoreless innings during the game, giving up five hits and no walks, with five strikeouts.[15] Over 16 appearances (four starts) for Detroit during the regular season, Melton went 3–2 with a 2.76 ERA over 45+2⁄3 innings.[16]

On October 4, 2025, Melton made his first career postseason start in Game 1 of the 2025 American League Division Series versus the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.[17] He gave up one earned run (a solo home run), walked one batter, and struck out four over four innings as the Tigers won 3–2.[18] Following the season, Melton was named Detroit Sports Media's Tigers Rookie of the Year.[19]

Melton was placed on the 60-day injured list on March 10 with a right elbow injury.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Aztecs pitcher Troy Melton out to show teams he's ready to be 'face of a franchise'". June 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Aztecs pitcher Troy Melton high on list of San Diego players picked on second day of MLB Draft". July 18, 2022.
  3. ^ "San Diego State pitcher Troy Melton selected by Detroit in second round of MLB Draft". July 20, 2022.
  4. ^ "With a smile on his face, Tigers' pitching prospect continues to upgrade his talent in West Michigan". August 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "Tigers 16th ranked prospect is making strides in West Michigan". July 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "Troy Melton Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News".
  7. ^ "Where the Guardians' Top 30 prospects are starting the season". MLB.com.
  8. ^ Stavenhagen, Cody (August 23, 2025). "Tigers' Troy Melton had a fast and furious rise to the heart of a pitching staff". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  9. ^ "Tigers' Troy Melton: On IL with shoulder strain". August 30, 2024.
  10. ^ "Tigers' Troy Melton: Bumped up to Triple-A". June 5, 2025.
  11. ^ Tomhave, Daren. "Tigers' Troy Melton among Baseball America's 10 biggest breakout pitching prospects". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  12. ^ Adams, Steve (July 23, 2025). "Tigers Designate Brewer Hicklen For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  13. ^ "Tigers look for hard-throwing Melton to boost rotation in Wednesday's MLB debut". MLB.com.
  14. ^ Beck, Jason (July 28, 2025). "Melton's stellar first start at Comerica provides big boost to Tigers' rotation". mlb.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  15. ^ "Tigers 5-1 Diamondbacks (Jul 28, 2025) Box Score".
  16. ^ Alter, Marlowe (October 4, 2025). "Tigers vs Mariners playoff schedule, probable pitching matchups for 2025 ALDS". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  17. ^ Romo, Christian. "Troy Melton is Detroit Tigers pitcher for Game 1 of ALDS: 3 things to know about rookie". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  18. ^ Destin, Andrew (October 5, 2025). "McKinstry lifts Tigers over Mariners 3-2 in 11 innings in ALDS opener". WCBD News 2. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  19. ^ McCosky, Chris. "Troy Melton is Detroit Sports Media's Tigers Rookie of the Year". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  20. ^ Petzold, Evan. "Troy Melton lands on Tigers' 60-day injured list, out until May 25". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Melton_(baseball)