The Erie SeaWolves opened their 2025 season over the weekend against the Harrisburg Senators with a veteran-laced roster and a crop of new faces making their Double-A debuts. I shared a scouting report for our Patreon subscribers on Friday, but I wanted to circle back and highlight what stood out over the rest of the weekend trip.
Friday Recap: SeaWolves Extend Home Opener Streak
The SeaWolves extended their home opener win streak to seven games with a victory over the Harrisburg Senators — a team light on headline prospect talent at the moment. That said, their rotation now features Jarlin Susana, a hard-throwing right-hander acquired from San Diego in the Juan Soto trade. He didn’t pitch Friday, but I did get a look at him later in the series — and yes, the velocity was very real. More on him shortly.
RHP Troy Melton: Sharp and Efficient
Troy Melton, who spent all of last year in Erie, looked sharp in his 2025 debut. He generated 11 whiffs in just four innings, leaning on a fastball-slider combo that kept Harrisburg hitters guessing. His fastball showed strong ride up in the zone, and he wasn’t afraid to throw multiple sliders in a row to disrupt timing.
Troy Melton racks up his fifth strikeout. Has looked sharp so far. pic.twitter.com/guIp4zdwYb
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 4, 2025
Melton was pulled after 54 pitches (36 strikes) — a familiar pitch-count cap for Tigers starters early in the year. While his goal this season is to pitch deeper into games, this was a strong first outing.
RHP RJ Petit: Quietly Throwing Gas
RJ Petit continues to fly under the radar, but his performance on Friday might help change that. The big right-hander sat 96–97 mph, making him the hardest thrower in the game. His changeup flashed legit swing-and-miss potential, with late arm-side fade that fooled hitters.
He worked two scoreless innings, allowed just one double, and induced mostly weak contact throughout his outing.
RJ Petit with a pair of strikeouts in his second inning of work, gets his second one on a 96MPH fastball. pic.twitter.com/4NHMQxGYFV
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 4, 2025
RHP Joseph Montalvo:
Joseph Montalvo also got into the action with a clean, scoreless inning. He’s expected to be part of Erie’s rotation moving forward and should get his first start next week when the SeaWolves head to Chesapeake Bay.
Infielders Jim Jarvis & Trei Cruz:
Trei Cruz made his return from Tommy John surgery and was back at third base. Honestly, he probably shouldn’t be in Double-A at this point — he looks ready for Toledo, but the Mud Hens’ crowded infield depth might be the only thing holding him back.
Jim Jarvis, who spent 2024 with West Michigan, opened some eyes. While we initially thought he’d return to High-A, he made a statement in his Erie debut by going 2-for-3 with an RBI. If he continues to adjust at the plate and show better pitch evaluation, he has the tools to move up. Defensively, he’s looked steady so far.
The same could be said for Justice Bigbie and Ben Malgeri, who feasted on Harrisburg pitching. Combined for the weekend, they went 9-for-17 with Malgeri having a pair of triples and Bigbie hitting a home run on Saturday.
Saturday Recap: Jaden Hamm has not lost a step
Jaden Hamm’s pair of strikeouts in the second. pic.twitter.com/Pfj0Mv5ZD2
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 5, 2025
Before we get into the pitching, let’s recap the bats that gave Roberto Campos, Thayron Liranzo and Jarvis the night off. The SeaWolves wasted no time jumping on Harrisburg pitching, putting up four runs in the first two innings and never looking back.
Max Anderson got things started with a solo homer to right field in the first — his first of the season — to give Erie an early lead. The offense kept rolling in the second, as Bigbie drew a walk with the bases loaded to make it 2–0. A throwing error by Harrisburg shortstop Cortland Lawson allowed two more runs to score, pushing the lead to 4–0.
Max Anderson hits the first home run for @erie_seawolves with a solo shot to right.His first career Double-A home run pic.twitter.com/2TJIejzW5W
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 5, 2025
In the seventh, Anderson continued his big night with an RBI double, and Justice Bigbie followed by launching a three-run homer to right-center, blowing the game open at 8–0.
Justice Bigbie with the second home run of the game for Erie, his second hit already in the game. 8-0 Erie pic.twitter.com/EP8lRSNJmT
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 5, 2025
Erie tacked on two more in the eighth. Malgeri tripled to right, scoring Anderson, and Eduardo Valencia drove in Malgeri with an RBI single to cap the scoring at 10–0.
Erie’s rotation dominance continued on Saturday behind Hamm and Dylan Smith, both of whom threw 93–94 mph and combined to keep Harrisburg off the board for seven innings.
Starters stay untouchable
Hamm, making his Double-A debut, showed confidence and composure out of the gate. He generated several swings and misses with a fastball that played well at the top of the zone and paired it with a breaking ball that he could land in or out of the zone. He struck out five and allowed just one hit across four scoreless innings, exiting with one earned run still not allowed by any Erie starter heading into Sunday.
Jaden Hamm’s pair of strikeouts in the second. pic.twitter.com/Pfj0Mv5ZD2
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 5, 2025
Smith followed Hamm with two strong innings of his own. He struck out three, allowed a walk and a single, but worked out of trouble and showed solid command. His fastball had carry, and he leaned on his breaking stuff when needed. Smith worked efficiently as he is looking to bounce back this season.
Dylan Smith’s second inning of work included a pair of strikeouts. Erie relievers have started the season with seven scoreless innings of relief pic.twitter.com/ALoXm59FKh
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 5, 2025
Drew Sommers made his Double-A debut in the seventh. The lefty’s delivery offers deception, and he flashed a good fastball/slider mix. He struck out one in a scoreless frame, getting quick outs and avoiding hard contact.
At the end of Saturday, SeaWolves starters had thrown 11.2 innings without allowing an earned run, scattering just six hits while racking up 15 strikeouts over the first two games. The early returns on this rotation are promising — there’s velocity, there’s command, and most importantly, there’s production.
Sunday Recap: Campos Shows Up, Liranzo Breaks Through
Sunday’s matchup had some buzz to it, thanks to the presence of Jarlin Susana on the mound for Harrisburg. The 6-foot-6 right-hander lived up to the billing, sitting 98–101 mph and flashing two distinct fastball shapes, as confirmed by Geoff Pontes of Baseball America, who has seen the pitcher more times than myself. One had riding life up in the zone, while the other showed heavy arm-side run. He also mixed in a firm slider and a developing changeup, giving Erie hitters plenty to think about. He finished the day striking out seven in four innings of work.
Despite the heat, Roberto Campos wasn’t fazed. The 21-year-old outfielder recorded his first Double-A hit on a 98 mph fastball from Susana, lining it into left field with authority. Later in the game, he added a second knock — a two-run single that gave Erie some cushion. Campos was thrown out stretching for second, but it was a good aggressive read, and a positive early sign for his transition to Double-A.
Roberto Campos first double a hit is off a 98 MPH fastball pic.twitter.com/gmzBygMyWO
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 6, 2025
Thayron Liranzo, another high-upside bat making his debut weekend, also picked up his first hit with a sharp single and later came around to score on a Justice Bigbie double.
Jarvis opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second, and Bigbie added another run in the fifth on a fielder’s choice. Campos then came through with his two-run single to make it 4–0 Erie at the time.
Harrisburg broke the shutout in the sixth on a solo homer from J.T. Arruda, and tacked on an unearned run in the seventh following a fielding error. But Erie answered back with Liranzo scoring on Bigbie’s double in the bottom half to make it 5–2, where the score would hold.
Final Notes: Miller extends the streak, bullpen holds the line:
Jake Miller took the mound on Sunday and continued the impressive run by Erie’s rotation to open the 2025 season. The right-hander threw four shutout innings, working efficiently with a fastball that sat 93–94 mph and keeping Harrisburg off balance with his mix. He induced soft contact, didn’t allow an extra-base hit, and extended the SeaWolves’ streak to 12 innings without an earned run by a starting pitcher through the first three games.
The bullpen did its job as well. While an unearned run came around in the seventh, the relief corps — including Austin Bergner, Troy Watson, and Matt Merrill — kept Harrisburg from mounting any serious rally. Merrill closed things out with a crisp ninth, inducing a game-ending double play to preserve the 5–2 win.
Looking ahead, Garrett Burhenn and Joseph Montalvo are expected to make their 2025 debuts during the upcoming series in Bowie, giving us a first look at the back half of what’s shaping up to be a deep and balanced Erie rotation.
A huge thank you to our Patreon supporters and everyone who donated through our GoFundMe — your contributions made these first two weeks of live looks possible. Because of your support, we were able to be on the ground in Erie, provide detailed in-person reports, and give Tigers fans a closer look at the next wave of talent coming through the system. We don’t take it for granted. Your belief in what we’re building here means everything — and we’re just getting started.
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Joe Rampe