Detroit Tigers Exciting Pitching Prospect Predicted To Win Rookie of Year
The Detroit Tigers and its president of baseball operations, Scott Harris, have done an impressive job of rebuilding the team's moribund farm system.
In just the past three years, the Tigers have selected in the early rounds some of the most intriguing players in the minor leagues. That includes outfielder Max Clark, infielder Kevin McGonigle, shortstop Bryce Rainer and infielder Jace Jung.
Jung — the younger brother of Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung — made his MLB debut late last season.
So did another top young prospect, one that MLB.com recently predicted would be named the 2025 American League rookie of the year — pitcher Jackson Jobe.
Jobe pitched in just two regular-season games for the Tigers but was impressive. He gave up one hit in four innings as he struck out two and walked one. Detroit even kept him around for the postseason, where he took a bit of a beating. He gave up five hits and three earned runs in 1.2 innings.
But Jobe is so well-regarded that he is Detroit’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline and baseball’s No. 5 overall prospect. Clark, McGonigle, Rainer and Jung round out the Top 5 Tigers prospects.
If he were to win the award, he would be the first Tigers starting pitcher to do so since Michael Fulmer in 2016.
Jobe was the Tigers’ first-round pick in 2021 out of Heritage Hall School in Oklahoma City. The son of PGA Tour golfer Brandt Jobe passed on his commitment to Ole Miss when the Tigers offered him $6.9 million as the draft’s No. 3 overall selection.
Detroit held him out of pitching until 2022 when they sent him to their Class-A team in Lakeland. He pitched most of the season there, going 2-5 with a4.52 ERA before a late promotion to High-A West Michigan.
There, something clicked. He started three games and went 2-0 with a 1.15 ERA. That had some carryover into 2023.
But, first, he had to wait out an injury. He missed the first half of the year with lumbar spine inflammation. Once he was healthy, he started rehab at the Tigers’ Florida Complex, followed by stints with Lakeland, West Michigan and Double-A Erie.
He looked sharp, with a 2.81 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 64 innings. He finished 2-4 and the Tigers sent him to the Arizona Fall League to get some more work.
Last season, everything worked. He became a Top 100 prospect, avoided injury and started his season at Erie before a promotion to Triple-A Toledo. Again, he excelled, as he went 5-3 with a 2.36 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 91.2 innings.
