How Did Detroit Tigers Superstar Prospect Do During Triple-A Debut?
There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Detroit Tigers and their playoff chances with only 11 games remaining in the regular season.
Sitting 1.5 back of the Minnesota Twins for the final Wild Card spot, there isn't a whole lot of room for error as they began back-to-back series against two current AL playoff teams, the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles.
Getting into the playoffs this year would be incredible, especially for this franchise who hasn't played fall baseball since 2014.
But even if they do come up short, this has been the most encouraging sign for the organization since they entered into this long rebuilding process, as it looks like multiple young players and star prospects can be cornerstone pieces of this roster going forward.
With Tarik Skubal leading the way in the rotation, the Tigers will have one of the best pitchers in the league, but they have to find another elite arm to pair with him to truly be a contender.
Internally, they're hoping that becomes Jackson Jobe.
Ranked as their No. 2 overall prospect and No. 6 in all of baseball, the right-hander was been dominant in his career so far, posting a 2.96 ERA across his 57 starts that has caused him to fly through Detroit's pipeline quickly.
They decided to have him finish this season with their Triple-A affiliate, giving themselves a good look at what he might be able to do when facing hitters just one level removed from the MLB.
The move wasn't just to celebrate and pat themselves on the back for promoting another top prospect, though, this was intentional to gauge the possibility of adding the 22-year-old to their 2025 Opening Day roster if he was able to perform well.
So, how did he do during his Triple-A debut on Sept. 14?
There are plenty of things he needs to work on.
Jobe gave up four earned runs on eight hits that included a homer across his four innings pitched. His strikeout numbers were down compared to what he has done previously, recording only three K's while walking two.
Still, there were some positives the Tigers assistant general manager and minor league development chief, Ryan Garko, took away from the outing.
"His stuff was good — he avoided the big inning — so this was good for him. He attacked the (strike) zone pretty well. He made some really good pitches that in Double A and lower would have gotten swings and misses. I thought his fastball was really good, but they (Omaha batters) stayed on everything pretty well and put some barrels on it," he said per Lynn Henning of The Detroit News.
That's really what Detroit is looking for during this stretch.
Jobe was able to overwhelm hitters at the lower levels because his talent is just so much better, so testing him to see how his stuff might play when facing better hitters was always going to deliver different results.
That happened in his debut, but that doesn't mean there's anything to be concerned about.
He is still very much in the mix to be part of Detroit's roster in March, and he'll have one more start with their Triple-A affiliate to close out the year and showcase he should be part of the mix in 2025.
