Detroit Tigers' Pitching Prospect Turned Heads in the AFL

As the Detroit Tigers look to continue their ascent at the Major League level, they've gotten good news this fall with regards to one of their top minor league prospects: Pitcher Jackson Jobe.

The former first-round pick (2021) battled injury for some of the 2023 minor league season but turned heads in this iteration of the Arizona Fall League.

His stats: 15.2 IP, 14 H, 5 BB, 19 K, 2.87 ERA.

He is the Tigers' No. 3 prospect and is the No. 54 prospect in all of baseball, per MLB.com.

Here's a portion of his prospect profile:

On a stuff level, you can still see what makes Jobe such a promising young righty. The 6-foot-2 right-hander has sat 95-97 mph in shorter stints since his return this year, and that's even up a few ticks from where it was in the FSL a year ago. His plus-plus slider remains his bread-and-butter with low-80s velo, consistent 3,000-plus rpm of spin and plenty of sweeping depth.

A low-80s changeup gives him another potential above-average pitch with sinking action, and he's added a low-90s cutter that plays tighter off the slider. With an athletic delivery, Jobe shouldn’t have control issues moving forward. He needs experience to learn how to best mix his arsenal and time to prove that the back issue is behind him. If it comes together, he has the tools to be a No. 2/3 starter. 

The Tigers finished second in the American League Central this past season and feature several enticing young pitchers like Jobe, Matt Manning, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal. If that group can stay healthy, the Tigers have a chance to make some noise again soon.

Jobe went 2-4 in the minors this year with a 2.81 ERA.