Overlooked Tigers' beneficiary of Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander signings could mold future

The reasoning behind the Tigers' signing of Framber Valdez was straightforward. The front office extended a massive contract because, for the past five seasons, he has been one of the most consistent starters in MLB.

Sure, the primary motivator behind bringing back Justin Verlander may have been nostalgia, but even at age 42, he was reasonably productive, posting a 3.85 ERA and 3.85 FIP over 152 innings.

But aside from bolstering the rotation of a team with serious postseason aspirations, acquiring veteran pitchers has another benefit. Fans and pundits often discuss the intangible qualities and "locker room presence" that more tenured players bring.

For a team with a young core like Detroit, it matters even more. The presence of Valdez and Verlander could have a more direct impact on one young player in particular.

Troy Melton gets a perfect opportunity to learn from the new veteran pitchers in the Tigers' clubhouse

Melton gave fans an encouraging glimpse of what's to come over 45 2/3 innings last season. He posted a 2.76 ERA while primarily coming out of the bullpen. Although he typically pitched multiple innings as a bulk releiver, he technically made just four starts, throwing more than four innings in just three appearances.

His stuff showed promise, especially his four-seam fastball and slider. Both pitches kept opposing hitters to a batting average under .200 while boasting whiff rates of nearly 30%. They were largely responsible for his success as they accounted for nearly two-thirds of all the pitches he threw last year.

Like many young starters, he still has lots of work to do to round out his arsenal. His cutter was remarkably ineffective, surrendering an opposing slugging percentage of 1.053 while his sinker and curveball also fell short of being productive.

The lack of arsenal depth is just one of the things he has been working on this offseason, with the other major focus area being his ability to miss bats. Technically, Melton lacked the innings to be considered qualified, but if he had been, nearly all of his Statcast pitching percentiles would've been below average. The biggest causes for concern were his chase rate (23.2%), whiff rate (23.3%), and hard hit rate (49.2%).

Aside from continuing to develop his pitching toolkit, the biggest challenge for Melton to overcome during spring training this year is injury, which is currently preventing him from taking the ball. Valdez and Verlander have both managed to bounce back from injuries in the past few years and their guidance will hopefully allow Melton to get back on track without losing a step.

Now that he'll be sharing a locker room with two incredible starting pitchers, Melton has a chance to refine his process on the mound with the added experience of Valdez and Verlander. He'll still have to find what works best for him, but the mentorship should only accelerate his growth.