With the third overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, the Detroit Tigers selected right-handed starter Jackson Jobe, and he has lived up to the hype ever since. Only needing 58 starts during his minor-league career, Jobe had 261 strikeouts in 233 innings pitched, with a career ERA of 2.97 and 1.137 WHIP.
Jobe made his MLB debut last season with the Detroit Tigers, only pitching 5 2/3 innings across four games in the regular season and postseason. While Jobe got roughed up a bit during his first little stint in the major leagues, the promise and high ceiling were still recognizable. His pitch mix, which includes a 97-mph fastball and sinker along with a nasty slider, makes him very versatile when it comes to getting batters out.
The Tigers Have Struck Gold with Jackson Jobe
The 22-year-old made the team out of spring training as the team’s fifth starter, and he has made an immediate impact. In the eight games Jobe has pitched in, the Tigers are a perfect 8-0. Per Tigers PR, Jobe is the first pitcher in Tigers history to have the team win his first eight starts, and it is the first time a pitcher in MLB has had that occur since 2001 (Roy Oswalt and Joel Piñeiro).
In Jobe’s eight starts this season, he has a 4.12 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. However, he has only allowed four or more runs in one of his eight starts. The inflated ERA comes from a start back on May 7th against the Colorado Rockies, when Jobe surrendered six earned runs in only 3 2/3 innings pitched. Outside of that one poor start, Jobe has looked like an excellent back-end starting pitcher who just needs to find a way to improve the command of his pitches. While both he and the team have had success, Jobe has given up three or more walks in half of his starts.
Still Some Room for Improvement
Walks have always been an issue for Jobe, even during his days in the minor leagues, but the Tigers believe in the overall talent of Jobe. His sinker break is amazing and can fool some of the best hitters in MLB, as he did with Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend. The way his fastball just fires out of his hand is impressive, especially for someone as young as he is. Having a slider and changeup mix also allows Jobe to have a secondary strikeout pitch that can keep hitters guessing.
Jackson Jobe, Evil 97mph Sinker.
19 inches of Run pic.twitter.com/IOEPxwvhqI
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Given the amount of talent in the starting rotation for the Tigers, Jobe can fly under the radar this season and continue to learn how to get better. The overall stuff is encouraging, he just needs to find ways to piece it all together. He can learn from two elite pitchers on his team: 2024 AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and World Series champion Jack Flaherty. The future is bright for Jackson Jobe, and this writer can’t wait to continue to watch his success in Detroit.
Photo Credit: © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The post The Tigers Have a Special One in Jackson Jobe appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.