DETROIT -- The not-so-secret weapon of the Tigers’ Trade Deadline dealings warmed up in the bullpen on Tuesday night, waiting for his opportunity. Manager A.J. Hinch held off on the move for four days, a reflection more of the solid starting pitching Detroit has gotten this turn through the rotation than of anything involving its relief corps.
As the Tigers took the field for the sixth inning, the door finally swung open for Troy Melton.
Melton wasn’t a trade acquisition, having been in the system since he was Detroit’s fourth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. He is, however, a trade beneficiary. By adding veteran starters Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton, the Tigers hope they got the strikeout reliever they wanted in Melton, last seen eight days earlier as a starter shutting down the Diamondbacks over seven innings for his first MLB win.
“Once you get the ball, it’s kind of the same game,” said Melton, ranked as the club's No. 6 prospect by MLB Pipeline. “Just got to do a little different stuff to get your body ready and mind ready, too.”
Melton’s relief debut came in a five-run deficit against the Twins, but it was a chance to see how his stuff would play in shorter doses.
The answer: Pretty good. Melton’s two scoreless innings weren’t enough to lead the Tigers back, but it was enough to provide a badly needed bright spot in a 6-3 loss to the Twins at Comerica Park. Combined with Cleveland’s (58-55) comeback win over the Mets, the setback whittled Detroit’s (66-49) lead atop the American League Central to seven games. That’s still nearly twice as big as any other division gap in the Majors, but it matches the Tigers’ smallest lead since June 6.
Detroit didn’t move Melton to the bullpen to shore up the division. This was a move as much about October, when rotations dwindle, later innings are more often shared than eaten and strikeouts become critical. Melton, who fanned 101 batters over 75 1/3 Minor League innings as a starter with Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo this year, has the potential to provide strikeouts, as much as any of the veteran relievers the club acquired at the Trade Deadline.
“I think most of our fans saw us use our pitching pretty creatively in the second half last year,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said last week. “We’re going to do a lot of the same things this year, and adding Troy to our ‘pen gives us a pretty dynamic right-handed swing-and-miss option.”
When Melton worked his way out of a 3-0 count to send a 98 mph fastball past Ryan Jeffers for the second out of the seventh inning, it was the Tigers’ first strikeout of the evening. Paddack neither struck out nor walked a batter in his four-inning start, recording only one whiff and 12 called strikes in 55 pitches. Reliever Rafael Montero, making his Tigers debut after last Wednesday’s trade from Atlanta, also had one whiff in his 22-pitch inning.
Melton had four whiffs over his 37-pitch, two-inning performance. Three came off his fastball, which played up a half-tick from his season average of 97.6 mph and topped out at 99.3. Twins hitters fouled off seven more fastballs.
“I don’t think I did a great job with two strikes either,” said Melton, who chalked up the velocity bump to extra rest rather than adrenaline. “Had a couple at-bats where I got to 0-2 [counts] and then to a walk. … I need to be better doing that kind of stuff. That’s something that I pride myself on being good at, and I wasn’t very good at it today.”
If the Tigers turn at some point to pitching chaos, or some rendition of it, Melton becomes big. Even if they don’t, Melton potentially looms large in situational work.
Asked if Melton could work into higher-leverage opportunities, Hinch said, “I think so. I mean, the stuff’s there. I think it’s about experience and strike throwing and being able to still use his whole arsenal. ...
“I don’t know where it ends in terms of usage. I think the No. 1 goal in putting him towards the bullpen is to maybe pitch him a little bit more often. As he pitches more often, the outings are going to come where he can get the ball in his hand in that leverage that you’re talking about. He certainly has the stuff. I think he has the DNA. I think he has the makeup. It’s just all new for him.”
Melton isn’t worried about the role. He just wants the chance.
“Honestly, I just want to help the team,” he said. “Whenever they give me the ball, I want A.J. and the rest of the team to trust me to get outs.”