Detroit Tigers Rookie Ace Flashes Tantalizing Upside in First MLB Start

The Detroit Tigers' top prospect showed plenty of promise in his first MLB start against the Seattle Mariners.

Mar 31, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jackson Jobe (21) throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. | John Froschauer-Imagn Images

It took them a few days, but the Detroit Tigers finally notched their first win of 2025 MLB season on Monday night.

The Tigers' bats got to work in a 9-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners, erupting for nine runs and 18 hits -- both season-highs -- against the Mariners' talented pitching staff.

Detroit provided plenty of run support for top prospect Jackson Jobe, who made his first career Major League start for the Tigers after making two relief appearances for them last year.

Jobe, the No. 4 overall prospect in the league according to MLB Pipeline, was solid in a no-decision, allowing three runs on three hits over four innings.

His command was spotty as he allowed four walks and two homers, but he struck out three and threw 48 of his 79 pitches for strikes, showing why he's regarded as one of the most talented young pitchers in baseball.

According to Statcast data, Jobe threw the five highest-velocity pitches in the entire game, with his four-seam fastball topping out at 99.1 miles per hour.

He also induced more swings and misses than any other pitcher in the game with 10. His curveball maxed out at 3,000 rpms on its spin rate, a truly elite number reflecting the immense upside of his breaking ball.

Jackson Jobe made his 1st career start!

The #1 Pitching Prospect flashed elite stuff today, grading out wonderfully. Surprisingly, his fastball continues to struggle with generating whiffs

The upside is tantalizing, he just needs to clean up the walks pic.twitter.com/mL5O828bNH

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 1, 2025

The 22-year-old righty only began throwing his curveball this spring, so it will likely take more time for him to get comfortable with it and fully incorporate it into his arsenal.

He unleashed the deuce just seven times out of his 79 pitches (9%) on Monday, compared to 30 fastballs (40%) and 23 cutters (29%).

Of his 10 whiffs, three came on his fastball, four came on the cutter and three were induced by his changeup -- an encouraging sign considering he threw the latter just 13 times and drew only six swings.

It's easy to look under the hood of his first MLB start and see that there's clearly a special pitcher waiting to be unleashed.

His fastball is not inducing as much swing-and-miss as it should given its velocity and spin rate, but once he finds ways to play it off his other pitches and catch hitters off guard, Jobe will be a force for years to come.

His next scheduled start will likely come at home this weekend against the lowly Chicago White Sox, which should be a far easier test for him.