The Detroit Tigers, despite holding the best record in all of baseball at 60-41, have been struggling recently. Dating back to their series against the Seattle Mariners before the MLB All-Star break, the Tigers have lost six of their last seven games.
Detroit’s latest loss came on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where they were shut out 3-0.
The Tigers recently promoted one of their top pitching prospects, Troy Melton, in hopes of getting the team back to playing winning baseball. Melton is set to make his major league pitching debut on Wednesday in the final game of the series against the Pirates.
Melton has started in 16 games this season with the Tigers' Double-A affiliate, the Erie SeaWolves, and their minor league team, the Toledo Mudhens. In those games with both teams, Melton has collected 101 strikeouts in 75.1 innings pitched and has a 2.99 ERA.
Melton is ranked as the 10th-best Tigers prospect and is the 3rd-best pitcher in Detroit’s farm system behind Owen Hall and Jaden Hamm.
With the addition of Melton to the Tigers pitching rotation, Detroit is hopeful that his impact can carry a long way in the postseason. The Tigers are currently in first place in the AL Central by 10 games. It will take an epic collapse in the second half of the season for the Tigers not to win the division.
Anything is possible, however, which is why the Tigers need to get back to their winning ways, and the addition of Melton can help facilitate that.
Promoting top pitching prospects isn’t the only thing the Tigers are doing to gear up for a postseason run. Tigers fans are hopeful that Detroit gets aggressive at the trade deadline on July 31st and pursues relievers to strengthen their bullpen. A right-handed hitter to improve their lineup is also a move the Tigers are considering.