Troy Melton promoted to Detroit as expected, Tarik Skubal to the paternity list

The impending Baby Skoobs opens an active roster spot, while outfielder Brewer Hicklen is DFA’d.

As expected, the Detroit Tigers have promoted right-hander Troy Melton to make his major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon. To open a spot on the active roster, Tarik Skubal has been moved to the paternity list. Outfielder Brewer Hicklen was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Melton made the leap to Triple-A Toledo back on June 6. He’s been a popular choice here at Bless You Boys for an eventual breakout, and this year he’s put it together, commanding his full arsenal more effectively and limiting the big mistakes that occasionally plagued him at the Double-A level last year. He’ll be showing up on most top 100 prospect re-ranks at midseason, and I currently have him as the club’s sixth best prospect.

The hard-throwing right-hander has an easy plus fastball at 96-97 mph and can ramp it up to triple digits when he wants more. He backs it with a cutter and slider combination that he’s been more consistent with this season. His split changeup needs that consistency as well, but lately he’s shown signs of that development as well. Melton also has a solid curveball to mix in on days when control of the changeup has escaped him.

Melton currently holds a 2.72 ERA for the Toledo Mud Hens with a 2.96 FIP and a whopping 37.8 percent strikeout rate. For a team in dire need of more swing and miss from its pitching staff, Melton could be a huge help. Still it’s wise to keep expectations modest, particularly in a starting role where he’s still learning to use his full set of pitches effectively.

While Melton’s innings progression probably won’t let him start for the Tigers the whole rest of the season, he could make for a powerful addition to a beleaguered bullpen down the stretch and into October. For now, it’s a perfect time to get his feet wet at the major league level and start working directly with Chris Fetter and his staff. Melton had to be Rule 5 protected this offseason anyway, and he’s the Tigers best hope for a real internal solution to the pitching staff’s woes of late.

Hicklen got his first major league hit earlier this season after a lengthy career as a journeyman minor leaguer, but showed no signs of a major league caliber breakout at age 29. With promotion season underway throughout the minor league levels, an outfielder was likely to be squeezed out of the Mud Hens roster anyway, so this was a pretty easy call for the Tigers to make.

As for the Tigers’ ace, well some things are more important than baseball. We’ll see how many starts he misses, but it seems likely he’s going to skip the next two scheduled at least. Time for the club to shake off their recent stumble and find that grit again.

Here’s a look at Melton’s best start for the Mud Hens.