Right-hander Jackson Jobe has been placed on the injured list.

Jobe, the Detroit Tigers' top pitching prospect, suffered a left hamstring strain in Wednesday's start for Double-A Erie, and by Thursday afternoon, the SeaWolves placed him on the seven-day injured list.

There isn't a date for his return, but it's worth noting that hamstring strains can require a couple of weeks or several weeks of rest and rehabilitation — depending on the severity of the strain — before players return from the injured list.

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Jackson Jobe injury

Jobe, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft, limped around the mound after his second pitch in the fourth inning of Wednesday's start against the Bowie Baysox, the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Erie manager Gabe Alvarez and athletic trainer Bryce Hietpas visited Jobe on the mound, with Jobe touching his left hamstring to indicate the injury.

After that visit, Jobe walked off the field alongside Alvarez and Hietpas for the early exit to another outstanding start. The 21-year-old, a right-hander who can throw 102 mph, tossed three scoreless innings with one walk and five strikeouts.

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His pitch count hasn't reached 70 in a single game, ending up at 52 on April 7, 68 on April 13, 66 on April 19, 59 on April 25 and 45 on Wednesday. He hasn't completed more than four innings in a single start.

The Tigers have been monitoring Jobe's pitch count and innings since spring training with the plan of letting him pitch in August and September, and maybe in October if he gets called up and the Tigers are in the postseason.

He pitched just 79⅔ innings last year because he missed the first two-plus months of last season with a back injury, and now, he will miss at least one four-inning start while sidelined with the hamstring strain.

Jackson Jobe stats

This season, Jobe owns a 2.16 ERA with 10 walks and 24 strikeouts across 16⅔ innings in five starts for Double-A Erie. His walk rate has gotten worse, from 3.4% in 2023 to 14.7% in 2024; his strikeout rate has gotten better, from 31.7% in 2023 to 35.3% in 2024.

The abundance of walks, however, isn't an issue to be concerned about in the short term or long term. He walked seven batters in his first two starts, but since then, he has just three walks in three starts.

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Jobe ranks as the No. 3 prospect in the Tigers' organization, according to MLB Pipeline, as well as the No. 22 prospect in baseball. He posted a 2.82 ERA with 11 walks and 103 strikeouts in 20 starts last season.

He wants to make his MLB debut in 2024.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers prospect Jackson Jobe has hamstring strain injury