Jackson Jobe

Jobe was the top prep pitcher from the 2021 draft, and while he flashed loud stuff in 2022, he lacked consistency and didn't generate much buzz. He suffered a lumbar spine injury in 2023 spring training and didn't begin a rehab assignment until mid-June. The 21-year-old righty dominated in short stints in the lower levels while he built up his arm strength, and he seemed to get even better as he started pitching deeper into games while advancing to higher levels of the minors, culminating in a five-start run to close the year where he logged a 1.61 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 34:0 K:BB in 28 innings. Four of the five starts came at High-A, with the final start being six shutout innings in Jobe's Double-A debut. He sits in the mid-90s (touches 99 mph) with his fastball while also mixing in a changeup, cutter, slider and curveball that all flash at least plus. It's a complete and filthy repertoire, and he walked three batters in 46 innings at High-A and Double-A, so health/durability is the only potential hold up on future ace status. Jobe was sent to the Arizona Fall League to make up for lost time and finished the year with 79.2 innings, so he probably won't push much higher than 130-140 innings in 2024. The Tigers will probably play it conservatively and send Jobe to the minors for at least a half dozen starts, but he might look big-league ready in spring training.

Jobe threw his first 77.1 pro innings in 2022, making 18 starts at Single-A and three starts at High-A. His plus-plus slider and plus changeup are still excellent secondary offerings, but Jobe didn't dominate the way those who eschewed prep righty stereotypes and targeted him in first-year player drafts were hoping he would. Though his low-to-mid-90s four-seamer has been lauded for its movement, low-level hitters were able to do damage against that pitch. If we favorably ignore his first four appearances of the year, Jobe logged a 3.60 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 72:25 K:BB in 70 innings. He logged five-plus innings in eight of his last 13 starts, which is a strong trend for the third-overall pick from the 2021 draft. Jobe throws enough strikes, but he didn't miss enough bats at High-A, and there isn't anything to point to that suggests he's about to really break out other than his draft pedigree. So much can still go wrong for Jobe, given his age (20) and profession, so it's concerning that he stayed healthy in 2022 and his prospect stock still fell.