Tigers Star Pitching Prospect Troy Melton Flashed Both Good and Bad in MLB Debut

There were both positives and negatives to take away from what Troy Melton did during his Major League debut.

Jul 23, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Troy Melton (52) walks in from the bullpen to make his major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers put Tarik Skubal on the paternity list before Wednesday's game, and that allowed them to select the contract of their 10th-ranked prospect Troy Melton to make his Major League debut.

A fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft, Melton has flashed high-end tools that caused the Tigers to promote him to The Show despite making just eight appearances at the Triple-A level this season.

Standing at 6-foot-4, the 24-year-old has had the most electric strikeout stuff of his young career this season, fanning 101 batters in 75 1/3 minor league innings, including 56 in 36 1/3 frames at Triple-A.

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Detroit wasn't expecting Melton to come up and perform like Skubal or Casey Mize or Jackson Jobe, but they were interested to see how he'd look against big league competition.

When it comes to that barometer, there was some good and some bad.

Melton was shelled early, giving up a solo homer to potential future Hall of Famer Andrew McCutchen in the bottom of the first inning before allowing a grand slam in the bottom of the second and then another run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third.

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But after that, the right-hander flashed his high upside, fanning five of his seven batters in the fourth and fifth innings before he was lifted from his outing.

Melton will get sent back down to Toledo following his debut, but there was enough there to give the Tigers an idea of what they have.

The good news is that he has gotten better the further up the pipeline ladder he's climbed, currently owning a 2.72 ERA across eight outings (six starts) with Triple-A Toledo.

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His command has been excellent throughout his career, so the two walks he issued in his debut shouldn't be something that is a facet of his game going forward.

The future is bright for Melton if he can take what he learned during this experience and apply it for the rest of the year on the farm. And if he continues to make strides, there's a chance he could get a late-season call and be part of the playoff roster.

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