Troy Melton Is a Tigers Pitching Prospect on the Rise

Troy Melton is fast emerging as one of the top pitching prospects in the Detroit Tigers system. Drafted in the fourth round last year out of San Diego State University, the 22-year-old right-hander has a 2.33 ERA and a 3.21 FIP in 81 innings between Low-A Lakeland and High-A West Michigan. Featuring plus command and a firm fastball that he delivers from a deceptive slot, he’s fanned 84 batters while allowing 21 walks and 66 hits. Over his last three starts, the Anaheim native has allowed just a pair of runs in 17 innings, with 10 strikeouts and nary a free pass.

Assigned a 35+ FV by Eric Longenhagen at the time our Tigers Top Prospects list came out in June, the young right-hander has since moved up to the 40+ FV tier thanks to his “burgeoning upside.” In the opinion of our lead prospect analyst, “his fastball’s impact alone should be enough to make him a good big league reliever even if his secondary stuff doesn’t develop.”

Melton, who has a marketing degree from SDSU’s Fowler College of Business, discussed his development path earlier this month.

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David Laurila: I was told that you have plus stuff. Would you call yourself a power pitcher?

Troy Melton: “I think I’m a mesh of a power guy and a control guy. Coming up in high school, I really didn’t throw very hard, so I kind of had to learn how to pitch. That definitely helped. There are always things to work on with command — you’re never going to be perfect — but that is something I feel I’m good at. I can throw four pitches for strikes, and kind of quadrant up with them too.”

Laurila: How hard did you throw in high school?

Melton: “I really only pitched my senior year, and actually committed to San Diego State before I was really even a pitcher. But I topped out at around 88 [mph].”

Laurila: That’s decent velocity for high school.

Melton: “In Southern California it didn’t feel too special. Everyone there has a guy throwing at least 85, so while I was a pretty good pitcher, it wasn’t enough to completely overpower guys. Like, I had some guys on my travel ball team — not my high school team — throwing in the 90s pretty consistently. I was never one of the guys that was coming in and blowing the doors down.”

Laurila: I’m guessing you weighed a fair bit less in high school.

Melton: “Yes. I remember stepping on a scale my freshman year at San Diego State and I was 172 pounds. That was my first time weighing in. Now I’m up to 225, so it’s been a bit of a journey in terms of growth.”

Laurila: Can you elaborate on committing to San Diego State before you were really a pitcher?

Melton: “I pitched a little bit my junior year, but that was out of the bullpen and I think I only had something like seven innings. Then in travel ball, I’d come in if all of our pitchers were burned and we needed a couple of innings out of the ‘pen. I’d basically just throw. I really didn’t know what I was doing.

“One day before my senior year… I wasn’t getting recruited to hit or to pitch. But I ended up throwing a bullpen at Long Beach State — someone from San Diego State just happened to be there — at this big showcase type of thing. I went at the last second and didn’t even pay because my travel ball coach had an in with the guy running it. It was kind of ‘Hey, just go throw a ‘pen and see what happens.’ I actually thought I was going to catch the ‘pen. They were like, ‘Go ahead and throw.’ I did, hit 87, and within the week I was committed to San Diego State as a walk on.”

Laurila: Why did you think you were going to be catching a ‘pen?

Melton: “I’d been a catcher since I was 10 years old. I loved catching. I would still love to catch, but the bat isn’t there. So I started pitching a little bit. Once I did, everything kind of happened pretty fast.”

Laurila: Thanks in part to a showcase you decided to go to at the last minute.

Melton: “Yes. It was a PFA showcase with a guy named David Coggin. He’s kind of a famous Southern California pitching guru. I never actually worked with him, but I got lucky enough to get into that showcase. San Diego State and a bunch of other schools were there watching his guys throw, and yeah, I got lucky.”

Laurila: Your pitching coach here with the Whitecaps, Dan Ricabal, was with a West Coast school at that time, right?

Melton: “Rico? I talked to him about it a couple days ago, and he said that he remembers that tryout. He doesn’t remember me, though. That hurt my feelings. But no, seriously, he was there [coaching at Long Beach State].”

Laurila: Jumping to the present, how hard are you throwing now?

Melton: “I think my average fastball is 95 and a half, but I’ve been up to 99 this year. In spring training, I was up to 101 a few times. My first two outings of the spring I was hitting 100-101, then it kind of tapered off and I started topping out at 99 for awhile. It’s 98 right now, so there has been some fluctuation. I’m working to get more consistent with the higher echelons of it.”

Laurila: How does your fastball profile outside of the velocity?

Melton: “That’s another thing I’m kind of cleaning up. Usually, it’s fringe carry and a little bit of run. But I’ve also got kind of a lower slot, and the approach angle makes my fastball play up in the zone a little bit better. I guess there is a little bit of funkiness to it. It looks like I have kind of a stock delivery, but with the lower release height and a little bit more extension, I guess the ball kind of sneaks up on guys sometimes.”

Laurila: Have you always thrown like that?

Melton: “No. I was bad my junior year of college — I got shelled — so I went back for my senior year and did a lot of things mechanically… like, I like changed everything in the upper half. Since then, I’ve heard from guys that it’s a lot harder to see the ball out of my hand.”

Laurila: What were the mechanical changes?

Melton: “I had a really long arm swing that caused some inconsistencies, especially with command. That summer, I worked with a guy in San Diego named Dom Johnson — he works with a lot of guys — and he really shortened me out. Instead of swinging it all the way out, now I kind of pull the ball straight out of the glove, get it back, and from there get on time super early. That helped me with everything. My velocity went up. My consistency went way up.”

Laurila: Is your cutter your best secondary pitch?

Melton: “It depends on the day. I just started throwing my cutter in spring training, so it’s kind of a newer pitch. It has been pretty good for me, but my changeup is the one I have the most confidence in, especially for swings and misses. I think the change is probably my best secondary pitch right now. The cutter is next, and then I have a sweeper as well. That’s my fourth-best pitch.”

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West Michigan pitching coach Dan Ricabal on Melton:

“What he brings to the table, first and foremost, is stuff. The fastball gets up to the high 90s. He can really spin it — it’s a solid 17-20 inches of vertical break — and pitch to the top of the zone. He’s understanding how to get to the bottom of the zone in quality areas. That’s kind of the next step in his development. He pitches with confidence. And he throws a bunch of strikes. He’s that combination of good stuff, good metrics, competitor, and strike-thrower. Put those together and what you have is a pitcher with a chance to have a pretty good career. He’s got a chance to be a two or a three on a good big league team. I like his ceiling.”