WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2006
A-:  0-1-2, 3.52 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 7.2 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 9.4 K/9

Melancon gave up a lot of hits in his debut, but had excellent walk and K rates.  After the season, he went to the Hawaii Winter Baseball League and injured his elbow after four outings.  He ended up having Tommy John surgery.

2007
Did not play

Melancon missed the entire season following the elbow surgery.  Despite that, Baseball America rated him the Yankees’ 11th best prospect after the season, due in part to a good showing in instructional league.

2008
A+:  1-0-0, 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 25.1 IP, 2.1 BB/9, 7.1 K/9
AA:  6-0-2, 1.81 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 49.2 IP, 2.2 BB/9, 8.5 K/9
AAA:  1-1-1, 2.70 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 20.0 IP, 1.8 BB/9, 9.9 K/9

On his return from Tommy John, Melancon advanced rapidly through the Yankees’ system, pitching better at each level.

2009
AAA:  4-0-3, 2.89 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 53.0 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 9.2 K/9
MLB:  0-1-0, 3.86 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 16.1 IP, 5.5 BB/9, 5.5 K/9

Melancon continued to pitch well in AAA.  The Yankees called him up several times during the season, but he never stayed long.  He had some problems locating his fastball and falling behind in counts.

2010
AAA (NYY):  6-1-6, 3.67 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 56.1 IP, 5.0 BB/9, 9.3 K/9
AAA (Hou):  1-0-1, 0.00 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 4.1 IP, 2.1 BB/9, 4.2 K/9
MLB (NYY):  0-0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 6.8 K/9
MLB (Hou):  2-0-0, 3.12 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 17.1 IP, 4.2 BB/9, 9.9 K/9

The Yankees left Melancon in AAA for most of the first four months and he didn’t pitch well, struggling with his control and allowing more than a hit per inning.  New York finally sent him to Houston in a deadline deal for Lance Berkman.  After the trade, Melancon spent most of his time in the majors and pitched much better, with a high K rate, although he continued to walk too many.

2011
MLB:  8-4-20, 2.78 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 74.1 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 8.0 K/9

Melancon had a strong season for last-place Houston, taking over as closer about a month into the season when Brandon Lyon got hurt.  The Astros traded him to Boston after the season for Jed Lowrie, which shows that the Red Sox valued him highly as Lowrie was a good trade piece.

2012
AAA:  0-0-11, 0.83 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 21.2 IP, 1.2 BB/9, 11.2 K/9
MLB:  0-2-1, 6.20 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 45.0 IP, 2.4 BB/9, 8.2 K/9

Melancon got off to a miserable start for the Red Sox, posting a 49.50 ERA in four April outings.  The Sox, playing as they do under intense scrutiny from their fans and the media, sent him to AAA late in the month.  He dominated there and returned to Boston in mid-June, spending the rest of the season mainly in a mop up role as Boston’s season went south in a hurry.  He finished with a dismal ERA, although it was just 4.19 after his recall.  All of his other numbers were about the same as 2011, though, except for his HR rate, which nearly tripled.  Five of the eight he allowed came in those first four games, including three in the last inning he pitched before being sent to the minors.  His xFIP on the season was 3.45.

Even before the trade with Boston was completed, part of the Pirates’ fandom and certain muckraking elements of the Pittsburgh media were already blasting the acquisition of Melancon due to his ERA.  Never mind, of course, that Hanrahan had an ERA of 7.71 when the Pirates acquired him.  Possibly even more than with Hanrahan, there’s every reason to expect Melancon to bounce back from his difficult 2012 season (or, more accurately, the four disastrous outings he had in April).  He doesn’t quite have Hanrahan’s ceiling, but he probably has close to an even chance of pitching as well as, or better than, Hanrahan in 2013.  Melancon will probably take over setup duties, with Jason Grilli becoming the closer.