Tigers' Troy Melton Opens Up About Shaky MLB Debut Against Pirates

When the Detroit Tigers took the field against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon, it was more than just a momentous occasion.

It wasn’t just the Tigers’ 101st game of the 2025 MLB regular season. It was the first time that Troy Melton was taking the mound as a Major League pitcher.

A fourth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of San Diego State, he rapidly moved up the Tigers’ prospect rankings over the last few years with strong performances at every stop in the minor leagues.

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Only three years after being selected, he was deemed ready to pitch in the Big Leagues, and it was easy to see why.

Through 66 minor league appearances and 273 innings, Melton had a 3.63 ERA with 319 strikeouts. He exhibited excellent control with a 2.4 BB/9 ratio and limited hard contact.

A chance to prove himself at the Major League level was warranted after he made eight appearances at Triple-A, recording a 2.72 ERA in 36.1 innings with 56 strikeouts and only nine walks.

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The No. 10 prospect in the Detroit organization at the time of his debut, Melton took the mound for the first time with the Tigers against the Pirates at PNC Park.

It wasn’t quite the storybook start he was hoping for, with Pittsburgh jumping him early and never looking back.

Melton surrendered a solo home run to Andrew McCutchen, the second batter he faced in the game. In the second inning, he ran into more trouble and was taken deep by Spencer Horwitz for a grand slam.

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The final run scored against him was in the bottom of the third, when Oneil Cruz hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field.

After that, Melton did settle down, throwing two clean innings before his debut came to an end after five frames.

His debut ended with a line of seven hits and two walks allowed, six earned runs being charged against him and recording seven strikeouts.

After the game, he spoke about the experience. Despite the underwhelming result, as the Tigers lost 6-1, it was still great to be out there.

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"You're nervous. It's the first one. I haven't really taken any time to soak it in. When you're out there, it's a baseball game like you played since you were a little kid. Wish it went better, obviously. But it's the first one. I had a good time,” Melton said via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X.

There were certainly some positives to take away from the debut despite the overall stat line being so underwhelming.

He will look to improve in his second start, which is slated for Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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