Was Detroit Tigers Star Rookie Jackson Jobe Tipping Pitches in His First MLB Start?
The Detroit Tigers and their fans experienced one of the most anticipated first MLB starts in the team's recent history on Monday night.
Jackson Jobe, the No. 4 overall prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline, earned a no decision as the Tigers drubbed the Seattle Mariners by a 9-6 margin to notch their first win of the season.
In four innings of work, Jobe surrendered three earned runs on three hits while striking out three and issuing four walks. He threw 48 of his 79 pitches for strikes, as he showcased some of the electric stuff that has positioned him as one of the most exciting young players in the game.
The 22-year-old righty added a curveball to his arsenal during spring training, and the offering topped out at a maximum spin rate of over 3,000 RPMs, an elite number that suggests immense untapped potential as a putaway pitch.
With a four-seam fastball that has great peripherals and topped out at over 99 mph, it came as a surprise to many viewers that Jobe only induced three swings and misses on 30 fastballs thrown.
Jackson Jobe made his 1st career start!
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 1, 2025
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
One well-positioned viewer, Mariners color commentator Ryan Rowland-Smith, posited that Jobe's glove positioning before throwing a pitch may have been a tell for Seattle hitters to know what was coming.
Rowland-Smith is a former Major League pitcher himself, so his eye is well-trained for catching the nuances of a pitcher's setup and mechanics.
Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, for his part, declined to confirm whether or not he and the rest of the team could tell if Jobe actually was tipping.
“I think everybody thinks everybody tips,” Hinch told Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. “I’d never tell you if I did (think he was tipping). That’s not something that needs to be public. If it’s something that needs to be addressed, we will, and I will leave it at that.”
If Jobe was tipping, it would go a long way toward solving the mystery of how hitters are either laying off or connecting with his nasty four-seam fastball.
Hinch's answer is honest in that it will quickly be addressed if it is a problem, as teams have robust video and analytics departments for this very reason.
Jobe's next outing will come against the Chicago White Sox.
It's a game that will represent a step down in competition level for the rookie, but if that whiff rate spikes, then that could be the answer.
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Kyle Morton has covered various sports from amateur to professional level athletics. A graduate of Fordham University, Kyle specializes in MLB and NHL coverage while having previous bylines with SB Nation, The Hockey Writers, HighSchoolOT, and Sports World News. He spent time working the beat for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and is an avid fan of the NHL, MLB, NFL and college basketball. Enjoys the outdoors and hiking in his free time away from sports.