Detroit Tigers Star Pitching Prospect Looks Spectacular In Spring Training
With the Detroit Tigers getting started in actual spring training games this weekend, fans and insiders have been keeping a close eye on a few names in particular starting to stand out.
Entering camp, the spotlight was understandably on top prospect Jackson Jobe. After making his MLB debut late in the season then struggling in the playoffs with the Tigers, seeing whether or not he was going to show the team they need to put him on the Opening Day roster is one of the main storylines.
By all accounts, Jobe is demonstrating to Detroit brass they should have no choice but to put him in the rotation right away.
After a live bullpen session raved about by the team and media alike in which Jobe showed off his newly developed curveball, a pitch that has the potential to be his meal ticket at the next level, The Athletic's insider Cody Stavenhagen did not mince words when asked about what he's seen thus far.
"It was reminder this guy should be on the team, and it's not really not a very hard decision," Stavenhagen said on the Tiger Territory podcast. "His stuff is just different...no one else on the Tigers staff comes close in terms of just sheer potency of the pitch mix, the fastball velocity is nasty, the changeup has become his best pitch."
Stavenhagen went on to break down the curveball Jobe has added in an effort to generate more swings and missed and described it as "game-ready" despite in being a new addition to the deadly arsenal.
Before the team signed Jack Flaherty to a two-year reunion deal, Jobe was seen as a virtual lock for the roster simply because of need and a lack of depth in the rotation. After bringing back Flaherty, it became a question mark whether or not he would begin the season at the MLB level, especially if he did not fully look the part in Lakeland.
However, Jobe seems to be displaying to the Tigers he is just too good for them to afford taking the chance of not having him in the rotation to begin the year.
While growing pains can likely be realistically expected, the young righty has all the talent in the world and if he can reach his potential as a rookie will put the Detroit starting rotation into a place where it turns all of the sudden from a weakness to one of the best in all of baseball.
Nobody really knew what to expect right away from the 22-year-old after his big league career didn't get off to the best of starts coming out of the bullpen in the playoffs.
As the spring has gotten underway, it seems Jobe has put it behind him and began to take steps towards becoming the future ace he's been billed up to be.
If he keeps this pace up, it's a safe bet Tigers fans will be seeing their top prospect right out of the gates when the season begins in just over a month.
