Tigers Baseball Report

Tigers Deliver Shockingly Positive Injury Update on Young Pitcher Jackson Jobe

The Detroit Tigers could be getting their future ace back sooner than later.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Jackson Jobe
Detroit Tigers pitcher Jackson Jobe | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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The Detroit Tigers are well underway with spring training and headed towards the season with things starting to take shape as to how the rotation will look.

Following a couple of very exciting moves right at the tail end of the offseason, Detroit's pitching staff has a huge ceiling and is one of the most exciting in all of baseball. One player who will not be in the group at the start of the season is young former top prospect Jackson Jobe after Tommy John surgery last year.

While Jobe's timeline seems to have varied after many suspected he would miss the entire year, every update surrounding him recently seems to have been extremely positive.

The latest medical update from the team included the fact that Jobe is playing catch three times this week from 105 feet away.

Jobe Playing Catch from Far Distances for Tigers

In last week's update, Jobe was playing catch from 90 feet, so extending him out beyond that 105 is clearly an indicator that things are going the way they are supposed to be right now with his recovery and he has not had a setback.

UCL reconstruction surgery is not the death sentence it once was, so hearing that Jobe is working his way back after being ruled out early following just 10 starts in 2025 is not exactly a massive shock, but it is a huge development.

Jobe showed flashes of brilliance in his first 10 starts but never was able to put it all together over the course of a full season, posting a 4.22 ERA and 1.490 WHIP while struggling to generate the kind of swing and miss stuff that made him such a can't miss prospect.

Now, it seems Jobe has a legitimate chance to return to the Detroit rotation and help this season rather than missing the entire campaign.

When Could Jobe Actually Return to Tigers Game Action?

Jackson Jobe of Detroit Tigers throws pitch from right han
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jackson Jobe | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The hope for Jobe from the team's perspective seems to be that he could make his return this season, however that is still not a guarantee by any means. In the most optimistic of timelines, it would likely not be until late summer after the All-Star break.

If Jobe continues to progress the way he seems to be so far though, perhaps an early August date is not out of the question, which if this year goes anything like 2025 injury wise would provide a huge welcomed boost.

He still has numerous hurdles to clear as he works his way back, but Jobe seems to be doing all the right things and is attacking his recovery relentlessly. Should he be able to find his way back this season, it would be a huge victory for both him and the team down the stretch, potentially preventing a rusty start to 2027 as well.

As Jobe continues to take steps each week, his process getting back on the mound is going to be something fans in Detroit are closely monitoring throughout the season.


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Michael Brauner
MICHAEL BRAUNER

Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.