DETROIT – Detroit Sports Media has declared Troy Melton the Tigers’ rookie of the year for 2025.
Troy Melton was drafted by the Tigers in the 4th round, 117th overall in the 2022 amateur draft out of San Diego State University.
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He began the 2025 season in Double-A Erie where he posted a 3.23 ERA in 39 innings pitched, striking out 45 batters.
He was promoted to Triple-A Toledo in June where he posted a 2.72 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched and struck out 56 batters.
He got the call from the Tigers in July and made his first major league start against the Pittsburgh Pirates where he pitched 5 innings, allowing 6 earned runs and striking out 7 batters.
Melton made one more start against Arizona -- this time shutting out the Diamondbacks for 7 innings and striking out five batters -- before the Tigers moved him to the bullpen (until his ALDS start against the Seattle Mariners).
He went on to post a 1.04 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched in August.
Altogether in the major leagues in 2025, he pitched a total of 45.2 innings, striking out 36 and posting a 2.76 ERA.
Melton’s arsenal includes a fastball he throws in the upper 90s (and has touched 100) that has carry at the top of the zone, and he is able to sink it as well. He also features a low-90s cutter, a mid-80s slider, a high-80s splitter, and a high-70s curveball he uses occasionally to keep hitters honest.
Melton has a tall, slender, 6’4″ frame and he throws from a three-quarter arm slot. He has excellent extension, which when combined with his size deceives batters as the ball appears to be coming much faster than it actually is (and he upper 90s consistently - imagine that).
A.J. Hinch gave him the ball in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners and Melton rose to the occasion. He only pitched three innings, but they were three shutout innings in which he struck out three Mariners.
In the Tigers’ end-of-season press conference, both president of baseball operations Scott Harris and manager A.J. Hinch confirmed that Melton will be in the starting rotation for the Tigers in 2026.