Tigers look for hard-throwing Melton to boost rotation in Wednesday's MLB debut

PITTSBURGH -- Sometimes the arrival of an electric prospect can give a team a lift, even when the core of the team is already young and largely established. Troy Melton doesn’t have to be that guy when he takes the mound for his Major League debut on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park, but it sure wouldn’t hurt.

Ostensibly, this is a one-time start for Melton (Tigers’ No. 10 prospect). One that’s meant to give Detroit’s rotation an extra day of rest amidst a stretch of 13 games in 13 days out of the All-Star break, while also giving Melton a look at big league hitters in a somewhat lower-pressure setting before the stretch run and playoff push.

But momentum is where you find it, and as the Tigers lick their wounds from a seventh loss in eight games with Monday night’s 3-0 loss to the Pirates, they can’t be choosy.

As much of a boost as Sunday’s win in Arlington was, the ensuing 24 hours were the hangover -- a 2:30 a.m. ET touchdown in Pittsburgh, a later arrival at the hotel, then a quick sleep before a meeting with Paul Skenes, whose follow-up to his All-Star Game start was his usual stingy self.

The Tigers posted one walk and three hits, one of them Parker Meadows’ third-inning double, in six innings against Skenes, but couldn’t spark an offense that has scored three runs over four games since the break.

Jack Flaherty matched Skenes for strikeouts with six, but in half as many innings, during which the Pirates put up three runs and nine baserunners and taxed their former National League Central nemesis for 78 pitches in matching Flaherty’s second-shortest start of the season.

“I was in some good counts and then the at-bats got long,” said Flaherty, who lost to the Pirates for the first time since his rookie season of 2018 with the Cardinals. “A couple walks mixed in there, which has kinda been the theme of when the pitch count starts to get up quickly. Weird, weird one. Still kinda trying to digest it. ...

“It’s not a stuff thing. My stuff actually felt really good.”

Tigers starters have gone two weeks since their last win, when Keider Montero tossed six innings of one-run ball vs. the Rays in a 5-1 win on July 7. Casey Mize’s seven scoreless innings in a 1-0 win in Cleveland on July 5 marks the only other win for a Detroit starting pitcher this month.

Sometimes, dominant outings have gone unrewarded, like Tarik Skubal’s gem Sunday night in Texas. Other times, things just haven’t clicked. Mize gets the next opportunity Tuesday night, when he takes the mound opposite Pirates potential trade candidate Mitch Keller.

Melton, the Tigers’ fourth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of San Diego State, arrives riding the wave of an outstanding stretch at Triple-A Toledo since his promotion from Double-A Erie at the beginning of June. Melton has pitched in just eight games for the Mud Hens, but his brief stint has been impressive -- 2.72 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 36 1/3 innings. Melton has tossed 17 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings over his last four outings, including four innings and eight strikeouts on Friday in a piggyback start with rehabbing Tiger Sawyer Gipson-Long.

Add in Melton’s season-opening stint in Erie, his second season with the SeaWolves, and the 24-year-old has fanned 101 batters over 75 1/3 innings with a 2.99 ERA.

Melton’s most recent outing put his full arsenal on display. His fastball averaged 97 mph, according to Statcast, and topped out at 99. Melton’s cutter averaged 90.2 mph, complementing the heater, and generated as many whiffs (four) as the fastball. Mix in a slider, curveball and changeup, and Melton has a full repertoire to throw at hitters.

Melton’s strikeout rate has been good enough to raise speculation he could become a bullpen piece like Jackson Jobe did at the end of last season. But the Tigers not only want to see him as a starter, they arguably need him as a starting option for depth. If Melton were to mix into the bullpen, he’d fit better as an innings eater than a short-burst strikeout guy.