Detroit Tigers Pitcher Named Biggest Rising Prospect of 2024
It has been a remarkable season for the Detroit Tigers, as they have already exceeded all expectations coming into the year.
The Tigers are battling for the final spot in the American League Wild Card race with a couple of teams from their own division. With a favorable schedule in the last week of the season, which includes a series against the Chicago White Sox, Detroit very well could make the playoffs this season.
Regardless of what happens in the next week for the Tigers, it has been a great season and the future is bright. In their starting rotation, Tarik Skubal has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the MLB, and is likely going to be winning the American League Cy Young Award.
In addition to Skubal in the rotation, Detroit also has another young star in their lineup in Riley Greene. The young outfielder is having a career year and is primed to be a star for years to come.
While Detroit is making a serious push this season, they still have a lot of talented young prospects who have yet to make an impact. One of those prospects is pitcher Jackson Jobe.
Recently, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report spoke about the rise of Jobe in the prospect rankings this season, as the Tigers might have another ace on their way to the Majors soon.
“With Paul Skenes now firmly established in the big leagues and Andrew Painter and Cade Horton both navigating injury-plagued seasons, Jackson Jobe is now the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball. The 22-year-old was brought along slowly after going No. 3 overall in the 2021 draft, tallying just 141.1 innings in his first two full seasons in the Detroit Tigers organization, but he is starting to force the club's hand this year.”
The play of the talented right-hander in the minors this season did lead some to speculate if he was going to be called-up this season. However, Detroit has played it slow with the young prospect, and he has done all that has been asked of him in the minors.
As the franchise starts to think about the pitching rotation next season, Jobe will certainly be a name worth monitoring. While he might get a few starts in Triple-A to begin next season, it’s hard to imagine with the way that he pitched this campaign that he won’t be in the Tigers’ rotation at some point in the early part of next year.
The combination of Jobe and Skubal could develop into a serious 1-2 punch at the top of the staff for years to come.
NICK ZIEGLER