Eerie Troy Melton-Tarik Skubal parallels hint Tigers were right to bet on him

Troy Melton will get the ball on Friday for the Tigers as they look to bounce back from a series loss to the Pirates. The Royals are usually no real threat, but Kansas City starter Noah Cameron has a 1.99 ERA in August. Luckily, Detroit will have their best on the mound for the duel.

Melton — who, delightfully, is going as "T as in Troy" for Players' Weekend — has a 1.49 ERA since he came off the IL in May. It leads baseball since that date.

He proved he was fallible his last time on the mound, giving up eight hits and three runs (only one earned) in 4 1/3 innings against the White Sox. Though he didn't get much help from his defense, he didn't look sharp. It was only the second time this season an opponent has scored three or more runs with him on the mound.

Still, it's unlikely the Tigers are truly concerned. Melton is at least part of the reason they decided to trade Tarik Skubal at the deadline and try to thread the needle. Although Skubal would've helped any postseason chances greatly, at least they had Melton.

The former Tigers' ace and his heir-apparent share some parallels, too. Both Skubal and Melton were plucked from relative obscurity — Melton was a catcher in his youth — and drafted by the Tigers outside of the first three rounds. And just like it was with Skubal, the rest of the league is taking way too long to figure out how good he is.

Troy Melton is Tarik Skubal's heir-apparent as the Tigers' ace (as long as they don't mess it up)

Hopefully, the Tigers have learned their lesson with Skubal. It might be a little too early to talk about an extension, but if he finishes the season strong, we hope we'll hear about preliminary talks this offseason. The Tigers missed the boat with Skubal in that regard, and they shouldn't do the same with Melton.

Pitcher extensions are always tricky, and Melton was hurt at the beginning of this season. But having him and Kevin McGonigle to anchor the pitching staff and offense for years to come doesn't sound like a bad proposition right now.

Melton is just 25 and under team control until the end of the 2031 season. While there's no reason for the Tigers to jump right now, they can't afford to wait too long and risk getting priced out (again).

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