Jackson Jobe
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| Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press |
Bio:
Age: 21
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Hometown: Irving, Texas
Draft Profile: 1st round, 3rd pick of the 2021 Draft by Detroit Tigers
Drafted Out of: Heritage Hall (Oklahoma City, OK)
Career Stat Line: 158.0 IP 6-10 W/L 3.25 ERA 189:46 K:BB .222 AVG. 1.13 WHIP
A bright spotlight this week on the highest ranked prospect on our docket this season, Jackson Jobe! The 10th ranked minor league player (per MLB.com) has endured a meteoric rise to stardom over the last half-decade of his life, and seemingly done so in stride.
He had a great role model for how to handle the pressure associated with such, watching his father compete on the professional golf world for much of his young life. Brandt Jobe celebrated success in the PGA of Japan prior to bringing his talents to the main circuit. While he never won a PGA Tour event, he did have one second place finish and got to compete in 24 majors (Wikipedia). Not too shabby of a career.
But we're here to talk Jackson, an true athlete who can do way more than dust you on the mound. During his high school days at Heritage Hall, he was the starting quarterback for the varsity football team. Jobe combined for over 2,000 passing yards and 24 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions over his sophomore and junior campaigns, helping lead them to a 3A State Championship victory in 2018 (Max Preps).
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| Photo: KT King/ Oklahoman |
On the baseball diamond, the monster righty wasn't even highly regarded as a pitcher for most of his prep career, instead holding down shortstop with ample ability. Jackson emerged onto scene as pitcher during crazy showing during 2020 Perfect Game Showcase, where his slider spin rates were beyond that of many elite MLB pitchers. Scouts took notice, as the ascending senior began to rocket up draft boards.
His final year at Heritage Hall would be far from a letdown, with the 12th grader producing .469/.592/.927 slashes and 7 home runs, on top of a pristine 9-0 record and 0.14 ERA on the bump (Baseball America). 122 of the 155 outs he recorded came via strikeout, compared to just 5 walks. Video game numbers. His efforts helped lead the Chargers to a State Title, as Jobe personally took home the honor of Baseball America High School Player of the Year.
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| Photo: Kimberly Richelle |
Then came July 11th, the first night of the 2021 MLB Draft. Weeks of deliberating with major league teams about where their opinion on Jackson's trajectory lies, as well as finances, all in the effort to set the recent graduate up for long term success. Everything lined up with the Detroit Tigers, who aggressively selected prep star with the #3 overall pick. The two sides agreed upon a $6.9 million dollar signing bonus and a professional dream had become reality (SpotTrac).
Jobe didn't get into any live game action for the short season, officially debuting in the spring of 2022 for the Lakeland Flying Tigers. He'd remain with the Class-A affiliate for majority of the year, posting a 2-5 record with a 4.52 ERA in 18 starts (MiLB.com). Opponents batted .251 off of him, and his K:BB ratio was a little under 3:1-- decent numbers but not quite living up to the early hype.
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| Photo: X |
Three starts to end '22 at Class A+ West Michigan provided much more promise. Jackson went 2-0 in an abbreviated stint with the White Caps, surrendering just 2 earned runs in 15.2 innings-- each off solo home runs. Plenty of momentum as he headed to his second full professional campaign.
Unfortunately, 2023 wouldn't start off on such a high note, with the then-20 year old starting things off on the injured list with a lumbar spine injury (RotoWire). He wouldn't make his first appearance until the middle of June, on a rehab assignment for the Florida Complex League.
Jobe slowly made his way back through Detroit's farm system, ultimately ascending to AA Erie by September. He'd finish up the season with a 2-4 record and 2.81 ERA, as well as a substantially improved 14:1 K:BB ratio (Baseball Reference). The 16 game sample size was a bit smaller than Detroit would've preferred, but the projectables were becoming reality before our very eyes.
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| Photo: MiLB.com |
We've only gotten to see Jackson in action 5 times so far this year, as he suffered a hamstring injury in his fifth start versus Bowie. Detroit's top prospect went 0-1 in those appearances, rocking a 2.16 ERA. But the walks have slowly started to creep back into the picture, with 10 compared to just 24 strikeouts in 16.2 total innings.
But we've got to keep the long game, with few in the game equipped with better tools for the position than Jobe. He's been ramping up his rehab over the last few weeks and should be back on the mound before we know it (Detroit Free Press). Make sure to check him out at Erie ASAP because the big league's are going to be calling for this kid soon enough.
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@Choppinglines
*I own no rights to any images found in this blog
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