Troy Melton promoted to Triple-A, Whitecaps win by walk off, and Enrique Jimenez homers in FCL action

Scores, news, and notes from the Detroit Tigers farm system for Thursday, June 5, 2025.

Columbus Clippers 3, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box )

Troy Melton was promoted to Triple-A for this one and pitched well in his debut, but the Clippers continued to trim the Hens wings, making it three straight in a tight, low scoring content.

I’ve been one of Melton’s biggest hype men on the prospect beat the past two seasons and he continues to trend in the right direction without quite putting it together enough to really start punching out as many hitters as he’s capable of getting. The right-hander has been excellent at the Double-A level this year. In 2024, Melton’s strikeout to walk numbers were strong but he allowed too many home runs. That hadn’t been a problem this season as he allowed just one in 39 innings of work for the SeaWolves, while maintaining his usual good strikeout to walk numbers. He held a 3.23 ERA/2.25 FIP entering his Triple-A debut.

I still like Melton to break through a little more and become a mid-rotation presence for the Detroit Tigers , but right now the 24-year-old is also looking like their best internal candidate to join the Tigers bullpen, at least for this season. Letting him air it out at 97-99 mph in short outings with his hard cutter at 89-91 mph as his main secondary pitch could make him a valuable weapon if he can just tighten up his command a little further. For now expect the Tigers to let him keep starting in Toledo until they decide he’s ready to help them out in one capacity or another.

Melton still doesn’t get quite enough whiffs to make him an obvious top 100 pitching prospect, although I’d rank him there myself, but it’s more to do with command than the stuff. He throws plenty of strikes but is still learning to put hitters away when he’s ahead. Melton got nine whiffs out of 87 pitches in this one, mostly on his fourseamer, which averaged 95.7 mph and topped out at 98.6 mph. His breaking stuff and good changeup are plenty good enough but he’s still got to put the whole package together more consistently with less waste pitches when ahead in the count to break through as a starter.

Melton went 4 ²⁄₃ innings in his Mud Hens debut, striking out seven without walking a hitter. The blemish on his card was back-to-back homers from Yordys Valdes and Milan Tolentino in the bottom of the second inning. Valdes got a 1-0 fastball down in the zone and hit it out, while Tolentino battled into a full count and got a 3-2 cutter down and a little too close to him in the strike zone. The left-handed hitter belted that one to straightaway center field. Oddly, this was also Melton’s best inning in other ways as he struck out the other three hitters he faced on swinging third strikes, with two on fastballs and one on a perfect changeup down and in to right-handed hitting Christian Cairo.

The Hens scored first in the top of that inning as Brewer Hicklen reached on an error to lead off the inning and then stole second and third. A Tomas Nido single made it 1-0 before the back-to-back jacks from Columbus made it a 2-1 game in their favor.

Tyler Owens took over for the final out of the fifth, but in the sixth he allowed a Johnathan Rodriguez solo shot that made it 3-1.

In the seventh, Hicklen led off with a walk and Tomas Nido reached on a infield single. That chased starter Doug Nikhazy finally, but the Hens would only get one run after moving the runners with consecutive ground outs from Akil Baddoo and Manuel Margot.

The Hens had a last shot in the eighth when Riley Unroe and Gage Workman singled to lead off the inning. Ryan Kreidler struck out, but Jace Jung walked to load the bases. Unfortunately Hicklen and Nido struck out and they wouldn’t threaten again. Drew Sommers and PJ Poulin handled the eighth and ninth without issue, each striking out a batter.

Nido: 2-4, RBI, K

Hicklen: 1-3, 2 R, BB, K, 2 SB

Melton (L, 0-1): 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens will try to turn the tide of the series on Friday night.

Erie SeaWolves 12, Richmond Flying Squirrels 4 (box )

The SeaWolves made it three straight over Richmond, pounding out 13 hits and taking advantage of an unholy amount of walks, 11 in total, issued by the Squirrels.

Erie started off quickly with Trei Cruz and Carlos Mendoza starting the bottom of the first with singles, and Max Anderson drawing a walk to load the bases. Justice Bigbie grounded into a double play that got Cruz at the plate and himself at first, but Eduardo Valencia and Eliezer Alfonzo drew back-to-back walks to force in a run. A two-run single from Chris Meyers followed to make it 3-0.

Kenny Serwa was promoted from West Michigan in Melton’s place and he got into a little trouble in the second inning, allowing two runs. The SeaWolves struck again in the bottom of the third as they loaded the bases and Cruz cleared them with a double to make it 6-2. Serwa then allowed two more runs in the top of the fourth, ultimately going six innings in his Double-A debut with Valencia behind the dish.

Valencia continues to be a force at the plate. After homering twice on Wednesday, he launched a solo shot, his 10th home run of the season, in the sixth with two outs. A two-out rally followed as Alfonzo walked, Meyers singled and stole second, and Jim Jarvis doubled in both runners. Cruz later singled in Meyers for his fourth RBI of the game, and it was 10-4.

In the seventh. Bigbie singled and scored on Alfonzo’s double, and a Meyers single plated Alfonzo to make it 12-4 where it ended. Troy Watson was perfect in two innings of relief work, and Ryan Boyer spun a 1-2-3 top of the ninth to finish things off.

Cruz: 3-4, 4 RBI, 2B, 2 BB, K

Meyers: 4-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, K, SB

Valencia: 1-2, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2 BB, K

Serwa (W, 1-0): 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Friday night as the SeaWolves look to make it four straight over Richmond and five straight overall. This stretch has opened up a one-game lead in the Eastern League Southwest division over Cleveland’s Akron RubberDucks. The first half ends on June 23rd with the division leaders at that point earning playoff berths.

West Michigan Whitecaps 5, Lake County Captains 4 (F/11)(box )

After their nine game winning streak was snapped on Wednesday, the Whitecaps got right back to their winning ways on Thursday. A tense, tight game was only decided in the 11th inning when a walk to John Peck with the bases loaded ended it.

Max Alba got the start and he allowed single runs in the third and the fifth while the Whitecaps offense were busy running themselves into outs with aggressive baserunning in the early innings. Austin Murr was thrown out stealing second in the second inning while Patrick Lee singled in the third and was cut down trying to take second as well. A Kevin McGonigle double in the fourth was followed by a successful steal of third. He was then thrown out trying to steal home as John Peck was picked off first.

Finally in the fifth, Seth Stephenson singled in Luke Gold to make it 2-1 Captains. Gold led off the seventh with a solo shot to tie the game, and back-to-back doubles from Stephenson and McGonigle gave them a 3-2 lead.

Alba left after five innings with two runs allowed and one walk against five strikeouts. Right-handed relief prospect Tyler Mattison looked good in a rehab appearance in the sixth, striking out one in a perfect inning. Joe Adametz handled the seventh, but Preston Howey blew a hold in the eighth inning, allowing the Captains to tie things at 3-3.

Colin Fields took over in the ninth and he was the real hero of this one as he proceeded to blank the Captains in the ninth, allowed just the inherited runner on second to score in the 10th, and then shut the Captains down with a pair of strikeouts and a flyout to strand the runner in the 11th.

The Whitecaps matched the Captains in the bottom of the 10th as Peck singled in Josue Briceño. In the 11th, Gold started on second and Seth Stephenson reached on an infield single to move him to third with one out. McGonigle took a rough strike three call on a pitch that looked a few inches off the plate, and the Captains intentionally walked Briceño to load the bases. That burned them, as reliever Josh Harlow then walked in the game winning run.

McGonigle: 2-6, RBI, 2 2B, 3 K, SB, CS

Stephenson: 4-6, R, RBI, 2B, K

Peck: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K

Alba: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Friday night as Whitecaps look to earn at least a series split. They hold a giant eight-game lead in the East division at this point. With less than three weeks left in the first half, they’ve reached the point where it’s completely safe to promote the top prospects without jeopardizing a playoff berth so perhaps we’ll see Clark, McGonigle, and Briceño moving up shortly. Let’s just say that if you want to catch these guys in West Michigan the time is right now, this weekend.

Daytona Tortugas 11, Lakeland Flying Tigers (box )

The Flying Tigers were hit hard in this one as the Tortugas piled up 14 hits and six walks, crushing the relief corps late to win easily on Thursday.

RJ Sales got the start and a long first inning, stretched by a Garrett Pennington error at first base, saw him get knocked out of the game for pitch count reasons with three runs in and two outs in the first. Ignacio Briceno had to hurry in to finish the inning. That set the tone as the bullpen was scrambling a bit to cover the innings the rest of the way.

Franyerber Montilla drew a one out walk in the bottom of the first and Jackson Strong singled him to third. Pennington walked to load the bases, and the Flying Tigers scored two on a wild pitch and then a ground out to make it 3-2 Daytona.

Briceno allowed a run in the top of the second, and so Daytona carried a 4-2 lead through the middle of the game as both offense were quiet. Jorger Petri took over in the fourth and looked pretty good in two scoreless innings before running out of gas in the sixth and allowing two runs. Duque Hebbert came on in the seventh and was rocked for five runs as the Tortugas put this one away for good.

Strong: 2-5, R, K

Hadeen: 1-4, RBI, 2B, BB, K

Montilla: 1-2, R, 2 BB

Coming Up Next: Down 2-1 in the series, the Flying Tigers will look to get back on track at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday night.

FCL TIgers 6, FCL Phillies 4 (box )

C Enrique Jimenez: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 2 K, (.901 OPS)

RF Anibal Salas: 2-4, R, 2B, K (.672 OPS)

RHP Jatnk Diaz (W, 3-0): 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 H, BB, 4 K

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