Jackson Jobe

Jackson William Jobe

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
High School Heritage Hall School
Debut September 25, 2024

Born July 30, 2002 in Irving, TX USA

Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Jackson Jobe was the third overall pick of the 2021 Amateur Draft, by the Detroit Tigers, out of a high school in Oklahoma. Considered the #7 overall prospect before the draft, his selection was a bit of a surprise, given the presence of a number of higher-rated players still on the board, and the inherent risk attached to any righthanded pitcher coming out of high school. Still, the Tigers were impressed by the fact that scouts rated Jobe's raw stuff as the best of any pitcher in the draft that year, with his slider his best pitch, the only question being whether that would eventually translate at the major league level. The Tigers explained that they had drafted him because they felt he had the biggest upside of anyone in the draft. Before the draft he had a commitment to attend the University of Mississippi, although that fell by the wayside given his lofty draft rank. Indeed, he signed with the Tigers on July 23rd for a bonus of $6.9 million. The signing scout was Steve Taylor. He did not pitch professionally that summer, awaiting the 2022 season to make his professional debut.

Interestingly, Jobe was mainly a shortstop before his senior year of high school, and was considered a prospect at the position, although more for his defensive skills than his bat. He was Oklahoma's high school player of the year for three straight seasons. It was said when he arrived at the Tigers' mini-camp in 2022 (with major league spring training postponed by the 2021-2022 lockout) that he had never given up a home run as a pitcher in his entire lifetime when teammate Manuel Sequera took him deep during a live batting practice session on February 23rd. He split the season between the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Florida State League and the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League, going a combined 4-5, 3.84 in 21 starts, with 81 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings. The start of his 2023 season was delayed by a back injury as he made his first appearance on a rehabilitation assignment with the FCL Tigers on June 17th. The Tigers then moved him up to Lakeland after one start, not wanting to push him too much before being sure he was fully healthy again. He ended up playing at four levels that season, also making starts for the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League and the Erie SeaWolves of the Eastern League. In 16 starts and 64 innings, he went 2-4, 2.81 with 84 strikeouts. He then pitched in the Arizona Fall League.

He impressed everyone on the Tigers' brass in spring training in 2024 when he hit 102 mph on the radar gun on March 12th in what was his first time ever facing major league hitters in a game. Still, the plan was for him to return to Erie to start the season. He was slowed down by a hamstring strain that put him on the sidelines in May. He went 4-2, 1.95 in 16 starts for Erie, was briefly back at West Michigan on a rehabilitation outing, then was promoted to the AAA Toledo Mud Hens in mid-September, making two starts there and winning one with an ERA of 6.00 in 9 innings. With the Tigers in an unexpected race for the postseason at that point, they decided to roll the dice and call him up on September 24th so that he could pitch at some point during the season's final week. He was ranked the top pitching prospect in the minors at the time. He took the place of veteran Shelby Miller, who was designated for assignment. He made his debut on September 25th by pitching a scoreless 9th inning in a 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. He made an other appearance on September 28th with three hitless and scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox. That was enough to convince the Tigers to add him to the postseason roster and his whirlwind ride continued with an appearance in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros on October 2nd - with the game on the line no less. He came into the game to start the bottom of the 7th with Detroit leading 1-0, but things did not go so well this time, as he gave up a pair of runs before giving way to Sean Guenther after recording just one out. But the Tigers were in a special place by that time, and they scored four runs in the top of the 8th to win the game and the series. In spite of that counter-performance, he was kept on the roster for the next round.

His father Brandt Jobe was professional golfer who competed on the PGA tour for a number of years. He spent part of his youth travelling around the country with his mother and sister to be with his father as he was competing in various tournaments. Obviously, this life did not bother young Jackson too much, as he knew at a young age that he wanted to be a professional too - he just wasn't sure in which sport. He was both a top football and baseball prospect in high school, but his being drafted third overall by the Tigers made the choice of a future career easy.

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