Detroit Tigers Minor League report: Jackson Jobe arrives

Detroit Tigers fans finally see Jackson Jobe in action.

It was the first full week of action for all four Detroit Tigers full-season minor league affiliates, and there’s plenty to talk about, including the usual buffet of strong individual performances and dramatic team wins.

But last week also saw the highly anticipated professional debut of Jackson Jobe, the Detroit Tigers’ top pick in the 2021 draft. Jobe was a somewhat controversial choice at the time, given the general risk of high-school pitchers, and the fact there were highly rated position players still on the board.

But the Detroit Tigers chose Jobe, and his first outing gave fans a decent look why. That said, it was just 20 pitches, in a player’s professional debut, and it came nearly a year after he last saw real competitive action, so drawing any real conclusions would be extremely foolish.

We’ll dig more into Jobe’s numbers later, but first let’s hit the upper levels of the system, beginning with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

Toledo Mud Hens (3-8) – 9th in International League East

The Mud Hens’ first road trip of the season took them to chilly, damp Iowa, and they returned home with just one win for their trouble. Tuesday’s opener saw a rehabbing Michael Pineda (3.1 IP, 6H, 4ER, 2BB, 3K) dodge trouble for a few innings before collapsing with one out in the 4th with a single-single-single-grand slam sequence. The Hens made it interesting with three runs in the 9th on a Josh Lester double and Jacob Robson home run, but they still lost 8-5. Wednesday was the start of an unfortunate trend of the bullpen blowing leads. Toledo led 2-0 in the 9th, but Drew Carlton allowed three runs in the bottom of the frame and the Mud Hens fell.

Thursday was the club’s only win, and it came after an uneven start from Joey Wentz, whose final line (3.1 IP, 3H, 3HR, 4ER, 2BB, 7K) brought back memories of former Detroit Tigers hurler Matthew Boyd. Recently acquired Jamie Westbrook provided the big knock, with a game-tying solo home run in the top of the 9th, and Toledo went on to win 8-6 thanks to a trio of wild pitches.

Beau Brieske (5IP, 2H, 0ER, 2BB, 5K) was excellent in his second Triple-A outing, but Toledo scored just once, on a Willi Castro single, and the Cubs plated five runs in the 8th to take home the late win last Friday. Saturday’s 3-2 loss was another heartbreaker, as the Mud Hens took an early 2-0 lead, but Iowa tied it in the 8th, and once again bested Carlton the 10th. Sunday’s game was postponed due to poor weather, with a makeup date set for August 3rd.

The Mud Hens just couldn’t muster much offense all week, but they’ll try to get their bats going tonight as they host the St. Paul Saints for six games.

Erie SeaWolves (4-5) – 5th in Eastern League Southwest

For the second straight week the Erie SeaWolves took on a very talented pitching staff, and they racked up plenty of strikeouts in the process. Erie’s 124 strikeouts this season are 18 more than any other team in the Eastern League, and they whiffed 77 times against the Somerset Patriots last week. But they still managed to go 2-4.

Veteran hurler Markus Solbach (4.1 IP, 3H, ER, BB, 9K) had a terrific SeaWolves debut, and Dillon Dingler helped keep the score in check with a key pickoff, but the Patriots prevailed 2-1 when Brandon Lockridge hit a walk-off double. Adam Wolf (3.2 IP, 3H, 3BB, 5K) had a solid debut on Wednesday, Quincy Nieporte hit his first home run of the season, and Joe Navilhon, Gerson Moreno, and Brendan White combined to strike out 11 over 5.1 innings of scoreless relief in a 3-0 win. Thursday’s game was a 5-4 loss that spoiled Andre Lipcius‘ first homer of the year, but it was probably most notable for Gage Workman going wild on the bases.

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Workman had a strong week overall, going 7-for-19 with three doubles, a home run, two walks, and eight(!) stolen bases in eight tries. The SeaWolves’ other win of the week came on Friday thanks to a stellar performance from Garrett Hill (4IP, 2H, ER, BB, 9K) and huge production from Erie’s 6-7-8 hitters Dane Myers, Quincy Nieport, and Kerry Carpenter, who combined to go 8-for-15 with three home runs and six RBIs. Unfortunately, that was it for the offense, and the ‘Wolves struck out 17 times in a 6-0 loss on Saturday, and then managed just four hits in an 11-4 drubbing on Sunday.

They’ll try to make a bit more contact this week when they host the Richmond Flying Squirrels, though Tuesday’s game has already been moved to Thursday due to inclement weather.

Lakeland Flying Tigers (2-7) – 5th in Florida State League West

The Flying Tigers went just 1-5 last week, but it’s hard to care too much about records, because this might be the most talented and interesting Low-A roster the franchise has fielded in years. So, we’ll ignore the game results and start at the end, with Jackson Jobe’s Sunday outing:

Jobe very much looked like a thrower rather than a pitcher, and for all the talk about his elite stuff, batters didn’t seem to have much trouble with it. That said, his pitch data remains spectacular, and he’s a 19-year-old who touches 97 MPH with his fastball, show solid feel for an upper-80s changeup, and owns a slider that would top Major League Baseball in terms of spin. He may need more time to develop than some had hoped, but the frontline starter potential is still pretty obvious.

There were plenty of other fun firsts for Lakeland last week. We saw the professional debut of Detroit’s 2021 9th-round pick Garrett Burhenn (4IP, 6H, ER, BB, 5K), and the first Low-A home runs from Izaac Pacheco, Manuel Sequera, and Cristian Santana. The shots from Pacheco and Sequera were both impressive, but Santana’s went into orbit and may have traveled 440 feet or more.

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Last week also gave fans rehab stints from Derek Hill, Alex Faedo (3.2IP, 4H, 3ER, BB, 5K), and Wilkel Hernandez (2.2 IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB, 3K), as well as a strong offensive performance from 20-year-old outfielder Jose De La Cruz (5-for-16, 2HR, 2B, 6RBI) .

The Flying Tigers return home this week for six games against Palm Beach Cardinals.