Detroit Tigers Top Prospect Could Have Easier Path to Starting Rotation in Wake of Injury News

With the news that Alex Cobb will miss about a month with a hip issue, top prospect Jackson Jobe could find his way to the Detroit starting rotation earlier than expected.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Jackson Jobe (21) throws during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in 2024. | Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch revealed that free agent acquisition Alex Cobb will miss about a month with a hip issue.

The team says "he received a PRP injection last week to address right hip inflammation that gradually occurred as he was building his throwing volume for spring training. He is scheduled to complete rehab daily."

A.J. Hinch said Alex Cobb will be set back about a month.

He likely won’t be ready for Opening Day.

So another rotation spot is open https://t.co/mTHZsHJiWj

— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) February 12, 2025

With the news that Cobb won't be ready for Opening Day, that means a rotation job could be easier to come by for top prospect Jackson Jobe.

It would appear that Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson have spots, with Jobe, Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda and others vying for the last two places in the rotation.

The 22-year-old Jobe enters the season as the No. 5 overall prospect in the sport, per MLB Pipeline. He made his major league debut late in 2024 and helped the Tigers win a wild-card series against the Houston Astros in October. He didn't allow a run in 4.0 regular season innings and pitched out of the bullpen upon arriving in Detroit.

Jobe is the former No. 3 overall pick from the MLB Draft (2021). We recently heard that he added two pitches to his pitch mix to get more strikeouts.

The Tigers are coming off a season in which they advanced to the American League Division Series, losing to the Cleveland Guardians in that round. They finished third in the American League Central. In addition to adding Flaherty and Cobb, the Tigers also added free agent infielder Gleyber Torres.

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