Jackson Jobe is getting the call to the show with one week left in the 2024 regular season and a playoff spot on the line. The Tigers‘ top pitching prospect is joining the big-league club before Tuesday’s game at home against the Rays, the team announced Monday.
The expectation is that Jobe will be used out of the bullpen for now, reports The Athletic.
Jobe, 22, was a first-round pick (third overall) in the 2021 draft out of high school. He’s been in High-A (three starts), Double-A (16 starts) and Triple-A (two starts) this season, putting together a combined stat line of 5-3 with a 2.36 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 96 strikeouts against 45 walks in 91 2/3 innings.
CBS Sports prospect expert R.J. Anderson had Jobe ranked as the Tigers’ second-best prospect back in the spring behind Colt Keith, who has since graduated from prospect status. Anderson said the following:
Jobe, the third pick in the 2021 draft, re-established himself as one to watch last season following a tough introduction to pro ball. Though he was limited to 64 innings because of lumbar spine inflammation, he made the most of the action he saw, running a 2.81 ERA and a 14.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio across four levels. (He also pitched well in four Arizona Fall League outings.) Jobe’s arsenal is full of above-average or better pitches, including a fastball that jets into the upper-90s, two breaking balls, and an excellent changeup for someone this young and inexperienced. Concerns about Jobe’s durability and command (his elbow rides up to the shoulder line) kept him from ranking higher, but there’s front-of-the-rotation potential here if both improve.
The Tigers have had one of the best bullpens in baseball this season, but adding a live arm like Jobe can certainly serve as a game-changer, especially if they can make the playoffs.
The Tigers are currently 82-74, which is good for a tie for the final two AL playoff spots. They have gotten into that position with a late-season surge, but there’s more work to do. They and the Royals only lead the Twins by one game so it’s a fluid and tenuous situation. The Tigers will host the Rays for three games before closing with three at home against the worst team in baseball in the White Sox.
Jobe last worked on Sept. 20, throwing 86 pitches in five innings.
