Dustin Molleken

Position: RHP
Born: 8/21/1984
Height: 6'4
Weight: 230
B/T: L/R
Acquired: Signed as a minor league free agent December 18, 2015 (DET). Originally drafted in the 15th round of the 2003 MLB First-Year Player Draft (PIT).

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: 1-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 26 games, five of them starts, at Toledo (Triple-A), striking out 40 while walking 26 and allowing 34 hits in 44.1 IP.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Recalled from Toledo July 4 when RHP Jordan Zimmermann was placed on the 15-day DL.
MLB Debut Date: 7/4/2016

Debut Details
July 4, in a 5-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The second of six pitchers, he allowed one run on three hits in two innings of work, walking one and striking out two. Molleken came on in the third inning with one runner, Rajai Davis, on and no one out when starting pitcher Daniel Norris injured his ankle. The first big-league batter Molleken faced, Jason Kipnis, doubled to right field to move Davis to third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Francisco Lindor. Molleken then recorded his first big-league strikeout when he got Mike Napoli swinging and walked Carlos Santana before getting Jose Ramirez to pop out to third base to end the threat. In the fourth inning, he had a 1-2-3 inning as Yan Gomes grounded out to third, Juan Uribe grounded out to first and Abraham Almonte was caught looking at strike three. Molleken started the fifth but after giving up back-to-back singles to the red-hot Davis and Kipnis, Alex Wilson came on in relief for him and allowed Molleken’s lone run to score as Lindor once again hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Davis.

Player Notes
May we please give the Tigers a nice, resounding slow golf clap for their promotion of Molleken? That is not a typo up there in the year he was drafted. If they gave frequent flier miles for every city (and town and berg) played, points for every night spent in a road motel room that all start to look alike after a while, Molleken might have already given up baseball and just embarked on an all-expenses-paid world tour. But they don’t, and he didn’t, and now here he is in the big leagues and for that every single baseball fan should be celebrating right now. There may not be enough space on the Internet to list his entire pro baseball resume, so just check it out here at Baseball Reference. And please note, if you’re looking carefully at that transaction list, that this is not Mr. Molleken’s first trip to join the Tigers. On June 20, he got the call, or “The Call,” or, if you will, “THE! CALL!” when Tigers 3B Casey McGehee was designated for assignment and joined the club from Toledo for two days before being sent back down without getting into a game as LHP Daniel Norris joined the club (and yes, there is cool irony in the fact that in his actual eventual debut he came on in relief of Norris). You’ll see that little note in the breakdown we’ve done here for the first half of season debuts … but you can also read my personal rant here. So, a little back info on Molleken though obviously there is WAY too much to fit into one capsule. Now in his 13th pro season, he’s pitched in 349 games. The well-traveled Canadian native has seen time in more American cities and towns than most U..S residents (deep breath here): Bradenton, Florida; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; State College, Pennsylvania; Hickory, North Carolina; Lynchburg, Virginia; Altoona, Pennsylvania; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Nashville, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; and Toledo, Ohio. Oh, and also he pitched for parts of two summer seasons in Japan with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. His numbers haven’t been what’s kept him from the big leagues – in 2015 at Columbus he was 5-3 with a 3.25 ERA in 40 games, striking out 52 batters in 52.2 IP and walking 27 while allowing 45 hits. But, hey, he’s here now so everyone – everyone – should raise a toast and salute one of the most newly-minted Major League Baseball Players, Dustin Molleken.