Detroit Tigers Top Prospect Gets Roughed Up By Yankees In Poor Spring Start

The Detroit Tigers faced off against the New York Yankees in a spring training Grapefruit League game on Thursday afternoon in Lakeland.

With a solid lineup on the field for both teams, all eyes were on individual performances.

Perhaps no one was under a bigger microscope to begin the contest than Tigers top prospect Jackson Jobe, who was making his fourth start of the spring after showing some tremendous promise in his first three.

While facing a Yankees lineup which had a significant amount of its Opening Day starters in the game, Jobe got roughed up a bit in what was his first real struggle so far this spring.

The right-hander threw 3.2 innings and gave up three hits, two of them home runs, while he also walked a batter. Just two of the three runs scored against him were earned due to an error allowing a runner on base before he gave up a two-run home run to fellow top prospect Jasson Domínguez.

Shortly after, Jobe got rocked by veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

The veteran slugger and former NL MVP smoked Jobe's 96.6 mph sinker to center field on a home run which exited at 111.1 mph and traveled nearly 450 feet according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

Jobe struck out three New York hitters, but his low whiff rate - just three misses on 28 swings - is a bit of a red flag.

Per Petzold, the average exit velocity on the 11 balls put in play was 95.5 mph, both figures which show that hitters are not only locating and putting wood on his pitches, but hitting the ball hard, too.

Through Jobe's four starts in spring training, he still has a respectable 3.65 ERA with eight strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched and a WHIP of 0.89.

With exactly two weeks to go until Opening Day, Jobe could have used a strong start Thursday to lock up his spot on the roster to begin the season.

There's an argument to be made for letting a young pitcher learn on the job, a strategy Detroit may very well employ. With that being said, however, Jobe's vulnerability on Thursday and his current struggles of getting hitters to swing and miss is a bit of a concern.

It's not a matter of if with Jobe since he is the most talented pitching prospect to come through this organization in a very long time.

But it is a case of when.

While everyone wants to see the 22-year-old from the start of the season, the Tigers have a real decision to make when it comes to their rotation if they don't think he's ready for a real Major League workload.

It's reasonable to think Jobe could benefit from starting the season in Triple-A, and it's a possibility Detroit will have to consider as they get ready for the season.

Whether or not Jobe breaks camp with the team is going to be one of the most highly-discussed topics over the next two weeks.

Recommended Articles