Detroit Tigers Young Future Ace Has Added Multiple Pitches to Lethal Arsenal

The Detroit Tigers are getting closer and closer to the 2025 season with spring training getting underway this week via the arrival of pitchers and catchers.

One of those pitchers just so happens to be perhaps the most anticipated young arm in all of baseball this year.

Tigers top prospect Jackson Jobe is ready to try to take the league by storm in his rookie campaign after a brief stint in The Show last season.

Once seen as a likely lock for the starting rotation before the team made several acquisitions, including bringing back Jack Flaherty on a two-year deal, Jobe will now battle with several others to prove why he deserves a spot on the Opening Day roster.

He is trying to take the next step and become a fixture in the rotation this season, telling Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that he has added both a curveball and two-seam sinker to his arsenal as he tries to improve on generating more swing and misses with a two-strike count.

"I need something that's going to put guys away," Jobe said. "That comes with me experimenting with the curveball to have that north and south approach playing off my four-seam while still having the east and west approach with the cutter that's really a slider and the changeup, as well as working on a two-seam."

Jobe dominated in 2024 with Double-A Erie, pitching to a 1.95 ERA and 1.086 WHIP over 16 starts, but he didn't generate quite as many strikeouts as both he and fans would hope for from a pitching prospect of his caliber.

With 81 K's in 73.2 innings pitched, the young future ace is hopeful that adding a couple more knockout-type pitches will help him fan more hitters as he transitions to the big leagues.

In four innings of relief work in late September for Detroit, Jobe was impressive with just one hit given up and no runs allowed, but things turned ugly once he was placed on the playoff roster.

In two appearances and just 1.2 innings pitched, both against the Houston Astros in the Wild Card round and the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS, Jobe posted a 16.20 ERA.

Even though things didn't go well, it was still valuable MLB experience which he will try to use in the future.

If Jobe can impress coaches in the spring with his new arsenal of pitches and show the rough October performances aren't a reflection of him not being ready yet, the righty will have a great chance to earn a rotation spot at start of the year.

With less pressure on him since the Tigers added more arms to the staff this winter, perhaps Jobe will be able to pitch freely and flash the kind of talent that makes him so intriguing.

Recommended Articles