Detroit Tigers: Jackson Jobe could miss 2023 season with spine injury

The Detroit Tigers' third overall pick in 2021 has his season put in jeopardy

Well could have seen this coming? (Spoiler alert: literally everybody except the person that drafted Jackson Jobe). The Detroit Tigers' first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft is slated to miss 3-6 months with lumbar spine discomfort. In addition, Dillon Dingler is going to miss at least a month after a procedure on his knee.

Jobe was drafted out of high school. You know how in the NFL it is generally thought that drafting a running back in the first round is a bad idea? Well, the same thing goes for high school pitchers. You don't draft high school pitchers in the first round, especially when you're picking in the top 10. There's a reason for that.

If you look back at the past 20 years, high school pitchers taken at the top of the MLB Draft typically don't work out, usually due to injury. Clayton Kershaw is the only real exception. You could mention Jameson Taillon, but even he has had an injury-filled career.

The point is, high school pitchers taken at the top of the draft have a high bust rate. It's why I was so against the Jobe pick from the beginning. Pitchers are just so fragile at that age. We just saw another high school pitcher taken in that same draft in Andrew Painter sprain his UCL. He was vying for a spot in the Phillies' rotation. Young pitchers like this are so prone to injury.

I'm not even going to waste time talking about taking Jobe over Marcelo Mayer. Anybody would have been better than Jobe. Jordan Lawlar, Colton Cowser, or even somebody like Brady House would have much better, and more importantly, much safer picks than Jackson Jobe.

I feel bad for Jobe. This was supposed to be a big year for his development, and now it appears his season may be over before it even starts. He's obviously still very young, but back injuries can linger for a long time. Here's to a speed recovery.