Tigers' Troy Melton: Aiming for four-inning rehab start
Melton (elbow) is expected to build up to four innings early this week in his fourth rehab start, which will come with Triple-A Toledo, MLB.com reports.
In his third rehab start and first with Toledo this past Friday, Melton struck out three over two scoreless innings. During that outing, Melton built his pitch count up to 54 pitches (33 strikes) and sported a fastball that topped out at 98.7 miles per hour. Though Melton and Justin Verlander (hip) appear to be trending toward returns from the 60-day injured list around when they're first eligible to be activated in late May, the Tigers could have room in the rotation for both pitchers. Detroit already has a new opening after Ty Madden (forearm) was moved to the IL on Sunday, and ace Tarik Skubal (elbow) doesn't look on track to reclaim a spot until some point in June at the soonest.
