Meet Jackson Jobe: MLB's top pitching prospect set to make Detroit Tigers debut
The Detroit Tigers are going all in on the playoff push.
The Tigers called up top prospect Jackson Jobe, a 22-year-old right-handed flamethrower, to join the bullpen for the final push for the franchise's first postseason appearance since 2014. Jobe, who was pitching at Triple-A Toledo, will be eligible to pitch in the postseason if the Tigers advance pending a petition to the commissioner's office to replace an injured player.
The Tigers made the move with a one-game lead over the Minnesota Twins for the final American League wild-card spot. The Tigers are 82-74, tied with the Royals for the second AL wild-card spot, with six games left against the Tampa Bay Rays (78-78) and historically bad Chicago White Sox.
Jobe will be joining a bullpen that has been one of the best in baseball down the stretch. Manager A.J. Hinch has weaponized his relief pitchers to navigate bullpen start after bullpen start ("openers") and string together wins. Now, he will have a new, highly-regarded tool at his disposal.
Jobe is the No. 6 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and the No. 1 pitching prospect. He also ranks as the No. 2 prospect in the Tigers' organization, behind only center fielder Max Clark (No. 5).
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Here's more information on the Jobe, the newest member of the Tigers.
Jackson Jobe minor league stats
In three seasons in the minors, Jobe started 58 games and pitched a total of 233 innings. He had a 2.97 ERA with 261 strikeouts and a 3.22 strikeout-to-walk ratio with an 11-12 record across Single-A to a brief stint to close Toledo's season.
In 2024, Jobe started with single-A West Michigan before a quick promotion to Double-A Erie, where he spent most of the season before two starts with the Mud Hens in Triple-A.
He had a 5-3 record with a 2.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts to 41 walks across all three levels. He spent most of the time with Erie, making 16 starts with a 1.95 ERA and 81 strikeouts in Double-A. In his two Triple-A appearances, he gave up six runs on 12 hits in nine innings. He tossed two-run ball across five innings on Friday in a 10-4 win.
He was hit hard in his first Triple-A start, surrendering four runs on eight hits over four innings.
“As much as I want to go out there and dominate every single time, those are the starts that like you just gain growth from, like you really grow as a pitcher," Jobe told the Free Press last week.
Jobe is considered a high-level pitching prospect because of the combination of elite stuff and an ability to throw a four-pitch mix. He has a fastball that can flirt with triple digits, along with a cutter, and two off-speed pitches: a changeup and wipeout slider considered elite by scouts.
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Jackson Jobe MLB draft
The Tigers drafted Jobe with the third overall pick in the 2021 draft as a high-upside arm out of high school in Oklahoma. The organization invested in him as a future ace of the starting pitching staff because of his elite fastball and ability to command off-speed pitches at 18 years old.
He was the fourth straight top-five pick for the Tigers in the first round, following Casey Mize, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson, who are all on the current roster contributing to varying degrees. He was also the fourth right-handed pitcher drafted by the Tigers in the first round in six years, joining Mize, Alex Faedo and Matt Manning.
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Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press covering the city's professional teams, the state's two flagship universities and more. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22, and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Who is Jackson Jobe? What to know about Detroit Tigers stud prospect
