SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego State right-handed pitcher Troy Melton was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Monday in Los Angeles.
With his selection, Melton gives the Aztecs 224 MLB Draft choices since 1965 and 27 over the past eight years.
In his final season with the Scarlet and Black, Melton earned Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year honors and merited first-team all-conference distinction after leading the league with a 2.07 ERA and fewest hits (57) while ranking second in opposing batting average (.235) and fewest walks (15).
Melton, who also garnered first-team all-MW accolades, allowed four hits or less in six of his 11 starts, including five straight to begin the season. Additionally, the Anaheim, California, product gave up one walk or less on seven occasions.
On April 25, Melton was tabbed MW Pitcher of the Week for the third time as a collegian after tossing his second career complete game in the Aztecs 2-1 victory over Grand Canyon, which entered the game with a No. 30 national ranking by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. He pitched at least seven innings in four other games, including a start at Nevada on April 1 when he posted his first victory of the season after yielding just one unearned run in the Aztecs' 13-1 romp.
On May 6 against eventual MW Tournament champion Air Force, Melton established a career high with 11 strikeouts in seven innings, marking the highest total by an SDSU hurler since Bubba Derby in 2014 (15).
Prior to the 2022 campaign, Melton was named to the preseason all-Mountain West team after earning a spot on the 2021 Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list. In May, he received his undergraduate degree from SDSU in marketing.
The MLB First-Year Player Draft concludes on Tuesday with rounds 11-20 and will be streamed live on MLB.com, starting at 11 a.m. PT.