Tigers' Troy Melton: Shows good velocity in rehab start
Melton (elbow) yielded two runs (one earned) on two hits and no walks while striking out two batters over 1.2 innings in his rehab start Sunday with Single-A Lakeland.
Melton missed nearly all of spring training after straining his right elbow in late February, but he reached the final phase of the recovery process by kicking off a minor-league assignment this past weekend. Since Melton resides on Detroit's 60-day injured list and won't be eligible for activation until late May, he'll likely use close to the entire 30-day rehab window in the minors to get stretched back out. He tossed just 32 pitches in Sunday's outing, and while the results weren't flashy, Melton sported a fastball that sat around 95-to-97 miles per hour and topped out in the 98-to-99 mph range. Melton could stick around in Lakeland for another start or two before eventually moving on to one of the Tigers' higher-level affiliates during his rehab assignment.
