Injured Tigers Starter Troy Melton Shines in Rehab Appearance
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The Detroit Tigers have gotten off to a slow start to begin the 2026 season. After reaching the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, the Tigers currently sit in fourth place, 6.5 games back of the division lead.
The supposed strength of the team, the rotation, has had some hardships to begin the season. Prize free-agent acquisition Framber Valdez has struggled out of the gate, Casey Mize missed some time on the IL and Tarik Skubal is set to miss quite a bit of time after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow.
The Tigers are in luck, though, as it seems one of their young arms is on the way back.
Troy Melton pitched in the fourth outing on his rehab assignment as he makes his way back from elbow inflammation. This time, he appeared with Single-A Lakeland and was excellent in five innings.
Melton Could Be Activated as Soon as Sunday
According to MLB.com's Jason Beck, Melton is eligible to return from the 60-day IL on Sunday. Whether or not that will happen has yet to be reported as of Tuesday evening. However, with his most recent outing, the Tigers could use the right-hander back soon.
On Tuesday, the 25-year-old needed 63 pitches to complete five innings, allowing one run on two hits, walking none and striking out six. According to Beck, he had 12 whiffs on 37 swings and topped out at 98.1 mph.
Troy Melton's rehab start for Single-A Lakeland:
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) May 19, 2026
5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K (1 on pitch timer)
63 pitches, 46 strikes
12 whiffs on 37 swings
Fastball averaged 96.5 mph, topped out at 98.1.
He's eligible to return from 60-day IL on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/Ffznk9e2AH
Melton's previous outings have all come in the last two weeks. His first outing was the roughest of the bunch, giving up two runs in 1.2 innings. After that, he settled down to throw scoreless outings of three and two innings each. It wasn't until Tuesday that he was stretched out to more pitches.
His last big league action came in the 2025 AL Division Series in which he made four appearnces, including getting the start in Game 1. He was great in that series, throwing eight innings, striking out eight and allowing just one run.
As a rookie in the regular season, Melton appeared in 16 games and was given four starts. In 45.2 innings, he accumulated 1.0 bWAR with a 2.76 ERA and 7.1 K/9. The rookie had become one of Detroit's most reliable weapons both out of the bullpen and in the rotation.
Melton is set to re-enter a rotation that has been ailing without Skubal and Mize until his recent return. Jack Flaherty has -0.5 bWAR through 10 starts, making it hard for the Tigers to give him the ball every fifth day, but they have not had a choice.
Should he return by the date he is eligible to, it would give the Tigers a little more flexibility when it comes to Flaherty, Keider Montero and Melton towards the back half of the rotation. It's good news for Detroit, something they could use right now.
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