Tommy Troy & Ivan Melendez Promoted to Triple-A

After 7 straight Amarillo victories and a borderline firesale at the trade deadline, the wheels are in motion throughout the rest of the system. Sod Poodles second baseman/center fielder Tommy Troy and first baseman Ivan Melendez are headed to Reno to make their Triple-A debuts.

Troy gets his ticket out of Amarillo after leading the team in hits (98 tied with LuJames Groover), OBP, OPS, stolen bases (21), and wRC+ (125). The former first round pick will make his Reno debut after slashing .286/.382/.461/.843 in 87 games, numbers that placed him 3rd/2nd/3rd/1st among active players in the Texas League prior to his promotion. Spending most of his time at second base Troy was also given the opportunity to play a little center field just a few weeks ago, showing off his versatility on defense. Troy likely ended his Sod Poodles career slashing .324/.390/.461/.931 in his last three series, logging 4 extra base hits (2 home runs and 2 doubles) with 9 stolen bases in those 9 games.

Melendez leaves Amarillo as the franchise leader in home runs, with his final and 50th homer coming in dramatic fashion, walking off the Wichita Wind Surge on Tuesday night to give the Sod Poodles their fifth straight victory. Maybe the most popular Sod Poodles player in team history the Texas Longhorn heads to Reno after 200 hits and 123 RBI in the three combined seasons with Amarillo. The Texas League saw its two HR leaders in 2025 get promoted in one week as Wichita’s Kyler Fedko (20 HR) and Melendez (16 HR) both earned their way to the next level. The first baseman slashed .258/.348/.480/.827 in 71 games this year with an outstanding showing in June where he posted a slash of .338/.438/.559/.996.

Those two have been a major part of what made this season special but the ultimate goal for every one of these players is to make it to the show, and this puts them one step closer to just that.