Jackson Jobe named to Tigers Opening Day rotation
One of Minor League baseball’s most electric pitchers received good news on Saturday morning, as Jackson Jobe has seemingly made the Tigers Opening Day rotation. Via @CodyStavenhagen on Twitter/X, it was reported that Detroit optioned Keider Montero and Ryan Kreidler, which paves the way for Jobe to make the rotation. Between Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Reese Olson, and Casey Mize, the first four spots in the rotation were locked down, and the final spot was Jobe’s to earn this spring.
Jackson Jobe’s journey to Detroit
Jobe did just that as he put together a solid spring line and displayed his upside. He started four games, logging 12.1 innings and a 3.65 ERA. Jackson Jobe is the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball right now, coming in ranked as the fifth overall prospect on MLB Pipeline, and third overall prospect on both Baseball America and here on Baseball Focus. Jobe was the third overall draft pick out of high school in 2021 and has had a steady rise through Detroit’s system. He has found a lot of success at each level of the minors as he has posted a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his three seasons in Detroit’s system. He pitched across three different levels in 2024 - High-A West Michigan, Double-A Erie, and Triple-A Toledo. Across the three levels, Jobe managed a 2.36 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.12 WHIP, and a .177 opponent AVG over 91.2 innings before his call-up to the big leagues.
Although it was brief, Jobe made his long-awaited debut on September 25th against the Tampa Bay Rays in Detroit where he delivered a scoreless inning out of the bullpen. He followed that up by another scoreless outing against the White Sox three days later over three innings. Despite only having four innings of Major League experience under his belt, Jobe made the Tigers postseason roster as a depth piece in the bullpen which speaks to how highly the Tigers view the young right hander. He gave up three runs over two appearances, but the experience he gained was very valuable.
What Jackson Jobe can provide to the Tigers rotation
Although his only Major League appearances have come from out of the bullpen, Jobe has exclusively worked as a starter since being drafted in 2021, so a starter’s workload is not foreign to Jobe. However, his 91.2 innings last year were a career-high for Jobe, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to a full season of work, barring injury. Otherwise, there’s not a lot to worry about with Jobe.
He has some of the best raw stuff in Minor League Baseball, which starts with his 70 grade fastball. The offering averages 98 miles per hour with a bunch of ride through the top of the zone. His slider/cutter is a 70 grade pitch as well and is an excellent put away pitch to pair with his fastball. He features a sinker, changeup, and curveball as well, all of which really help to complete his arsenal as a starter. His command needs some fine tuning which will come naturally with experience, although his stuff is so good that he can often times get away with a little lack of command.
Jobe will join an exciting group of rookies debuting in 2025 and possesses the upside to take home the American League Rookie of the Year award this year.
