Seattle — Troy Melton was on the plane with his teammates late Thursday night, trying to relax after the Tigers’ clinched the Wild Card Series and celebrated like rock stars at Progressive Field, when his phone buzzed.

“You’re going Game 1,” read the text from manager AJ Hinch.

“Let’s go!” Melton said.

Hinch announced Friday that Melton, the rookie right-hander with 46 big-league innings under his belt, will get the ball first in Game 1 of the ALDS Saturday against the Seattle Mariners.

“Honestly, if I could have drawn it up, that's what I would be doing,” Melton told reporters after the Tigers’ worked out at T-Mobile Park Friday. “But it's kind of cool to look back on it, how fast it has happened. When I started the year in (Double-A) Erie, I didn't want to finish the year in Erie.

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