One of next year’s starters…
# Rookie Troy Melton emerges as Detroit Tigers’ X-factor in ALDS, wants to pitch in Game 5
full article at link.
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Not only did Melton carry the Tigers close to the finish line in Game 4, but he also started Game 1. The 24-year-old — a 2022 fourth-round draft pick who made his MLB debut in late July — pitched in each of the Tigers’ two wins in the ALDS, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts across seven innings.
Melton wants to pitch in the winner-take-all Game 5.
“I’ll be ready if they need me,” said Melton, who could be available for one or two innings in Game 5 after throwing 57 pitches in Game 1 and 35 pitches in Game 4. “I’m ready to go.”
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Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch summoned right-hander Casey Mize into the tunnel between the clubhouse and dugout after the third inning in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners, instead of giving him the customary fist bump that sends a pitcher back out for another inning.
In the tunnel, Hinch delivered his message: “The best chance for us to not only keep this game close but to win this game was to continue to throw different pitchers at them.”
…“We knew we were trying to get the ball to Melton,” Hinch said, “but we didn’t know when it was going to be.”
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Melton threw his fastest fastball for his final pitch in the sixth inning, just before the Tigers grabbed the lead.
He hit 99.7 mph.
It was part of a three-pitch sequence that featured nothing but high velocity to Randy Arozarena with two runners on and two outs: a 98.4 mph fastball (swinging strike), a 99.4 mph fastball (called strike) and, finally, a 99.7 mph fastball (flyout).
“The fastball, it’s been there,” Melton said.
…The four-seam fastball is what makes Melton special.
His fastball averages 97 mph, but more importantly, he can get swings and misses with it — both in and out of the strike zone — at a rate few pitchers can match.
His four-seamer generated a 29.7% whiff rate overall and a 27.9% whiff rate in the zone during the regular season, well above the MLB averages of 21.7% and 18.2%, respectively.
…“I do it a little bit different than a lot of guys,” Melton said. “I have a different release, and I throw pretty hard. When you see results like that, and you are getting swings and misses, it’s easy to trust.”
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Melton had pinch-hitter Luke Raley — a left-handed hitter — in a two-strike count after three fastballs in a row with one out in the sixth inning. He threw a perfectly executed down-and-away splitter that induced a swinging strikeout.
It set the tone for effectiveness of his splitter.
“I’ve struggled with the splitter a little bit this year,” said Melton, who dominates right-handed hitters but needs the splitter to shut down lefties. “Of late, it’s been really good for me, but I’ve struggled commanding it and throwing it in places where I’m getting swing-and-miss. In the last three or four outings, it’s been really good for me, so I’m building confidence with that.”
DET