Top Prospect Helps Detroit Tigers Surge Upward in MLB Power Rankings
With the season a couple of weeks in, the Detroit Tigers have emerged early on as the team to beat in the American League Central.
This past week was a strong one for the Tigers. Detroit was able to win both of their series against the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins.
To begin the week, the Tigers took two out of three games against the Yankees, cooling off their red-hot offense thanks to some strong pitching performances.
Against their AL Central rival, Detroit was able to pick up another series win.
Overall, the start to the year has been really strong for the Tigers and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this team going forward. However, in the series against the Twins, they might have seen the rise of their new star pitcher.
Will Leitch of MLB.com recently spoke about the Tigers moving up significantly in his power rankings from 13th to eighth, thanks to a great performance from their top prospect this week.
“If you were feeling optimistic about the Tigers this year -- and you should know your Power Rankings author very much was -- much of your hope may have ridden on the shoulders of rookie Jackson Jobe, MLB Pipeline's No. 4 overall prospect…”
There has been a ton of hype surrounding Jackson Jobe in Detroit’s organization over the last couple of campaigns, and the time is now for him to showcase what he can do.
At the end of last season and briefly in the playoffs, Jobe did get some experience in the Majors. However, he is now a member of the starting rotation for the Tigers and is looking to make an impact.
Against Minnesota, the young right-hander had his best start of his career. In his first career victory, he totaled six innings of shutout baseball, while allowing just two hits and one walk.
Overall, the numbers are starting to look good for the 22-year-old. After three starts this campaign, he has a very strong ERA of 3.00.
With his rookie status intact, Jobe could very well be in the conversation for the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2025. The right-hander showed a ton of potential in the minors and has been widely regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball.
For the Tigers, the development of Jobe this season is very important. With Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty leading the rotation, the team does still need one of the young arms to step up come postseason time in a potentially long series.
So far, Jobe looks to be up to the task and was a major reason for the success of the team this past week.
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Nick Ziegler is an alumnus of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He has been working in sports media covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL for nearly a decade with various publications online. With his free time, Nick enjoys being at the Jersey Shore with his wife, daughter, and their golden retriever. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NickZiegler20.