LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers right-hander Jackson Jobe, one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, woke up on Tuesday morning in Lakeland, Florida, more than 1,300 miles from his hometown Oklahoma City.

This occasion in Lakeland reminded him of a December holiday he celebrates with his family back home in the offseason.

"I was counting down the days," Jobe said. "It felt like Christmas today. It was awesome."

Jobe, whom the Tigers drafted out of high school with the No. 3 overall pick in 2021, stepped on the mound for his Grapefruit League debut in the ninth inning Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins at Joker Marchant Stadium.

It was his first-ever appearance in MLB spring training. He felt a combination of nerves and excitement while jogging from the bullpen to the mound.

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"It felt like I was floating," Jobe said.

There was a lot of adrenaline.

"But I knew that's how it was going to be," he continued. "I usually get like that before starts. I like it for reasons like that, being able to use the adrenaline to my advantage. That's what I play for. That's what it's all about."

Jobe retired all three batters he faced — Jake Rucker (groundout), Dylan Neuse (called strikeout), Willie Joe Garry (swinging strikeout) — to complete the Tigers' 1-0 win over the Twins, recording a save. He threw nine of 13 pitches for strikes and generated five whiffs on seven swings.

His four-seam fastball maxed out at 101.8 mph.

"I've been throwing hard, but 102, I didn't expect that," Jobe said. "I was trying to hit 101, for sure. Juices were definitely flowing, so that helped out."

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Not only did Jobe throw hard, he showed maturity in his first Grapefruit League appearance. He sprayed his first two pitches — back-to-back fastballs — to his arm side for balls, falling behind 2-0 in the count to Rucker.

Catcher Anthony Bemboom, a journeyman who has played in five MLB seasons, explained why the third pitch — a 94.8 mph cutter for a called strike — told him everything he needed to know about Jobe.

"For a young pitcher, that's a really big step of maturity," said Bemboom, who caught Jobe in Tuesday's game. "The first couple of pitches can go one way or the other, and he did a really good job of refocusing himself and getting back to attacking. If he throws strikes with his stuff, you see what happens."

Rucker, a 24-year-old who played in Double-A last season, grounded out on a fourth-pitch 84.1 mph sweeper inside the strike zone. Neuse, a 25-year-old who played in Low-A, struck out looking on a sixth-pitch 100.6 mph fastball at the bottom of the zone.

Garry, a 23-year-old who played in Double-A, struck out swinging on a third-pitch 86 mph changeup outside of the zone. The left-handed hitter went down swinging at three consecutive pitches, beginning with a 96 mph cutter and an 86.1 mph changeup.

"Very impressive," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "Some of the best stuff you'll see. I'm glad that he settled down after a couple of misfires early. He earned that inning by making sure that he did his work and paid attention to detail during the first part of spring."

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The 21-year-old Jobe, who finished in Double-A Erie last season, threw five fastballs, four changeups, two sweepers and two cutters. He generated five whiffs with one fastball, two changeups, one sweeper and one cutter.

"I worked my tail off in the offseason," said Jobe, who spent the offseason training at PitchingWRX in Oklahoma City. "I want to be on this team. I'm really happy with where my stuff is at, and now, I need to stay healthy."

His fastball averaged 100.2 mph; his sweeper averaged a 2,972 rpm spin rate.

"That was pretty special right there," Bemboom said. "Pretty special stuff. ... You got to be ready, especially for the fastball because it gets on you. I think the action — the life — on all of his pitches, you don't see that all the time. Breaking balls accelerate through the break, changeups with that much action, and fastballs with that much life, like an extra gear at the end of it. It's special."

Jobe ranks as the Tigers' No. 3 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, trailing outfielder Max Clark and second baseman Colt Keith.

He also ranks as the No. 25 prospect in baseball and the third-best pitching prospect, behind Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes and San Francisco Giants left-hander Kyle Harrison.

Outfielder Kerry Carpenter compared Jobe to Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider, an All-Star who finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting last season. Bemboom compared him to Baltimore Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 draft who had a 4.35 ERA in 23 starts last season.

Bemboom spent the past two seasons with the Orioles, totaling 28 MLB games, before signing a minor-league contract with the Tigers.

"Similar stuff, different body profile," Bemboom said, comparing Jobe and Rodriguez. "But I think when he's on, he's very dominant. I could see that out of Jackson, too."

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Jobe seems likely to return to Double-A Erie following spring training.

In 2023, Jobe posted a 2.82 ERA with 11 walks (3.4% walk rate) and 103 strikeouts (31.7% strikeout rate) across 79⅔ innings in 20 starts, spanning five levels from the Florida Complex League to the Arizona Fall League. A back injury, described as lumbar spine inflammation, sidelined him for the first two months and limited his innings last season.

As long as Jobe performs in Double-A, it won't be long before the Tigers promote him to Triple-A Toledo, and if everything goes as planned, he will pitch for the Tigers in the second half of the 2024 season.

"Hopefully, but we'll see," Jobe said. "Not my call, not my call. We'll see."

His MLB debut, a matter of when not if, is going to be even better than Christmas.

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' Jackson Jobe displays 'special stuff' in spring debut