Detroit Tigers Top Prospects for 2024: #2 Jackson Jobe

We're getting down to the nitty-gritty. It's the top two in our Detroit Tigers top prospects for 2024. Yesterday was 2023 third overall pick Max Clark, and today, it's 2021 third overall pick Jackson Jobe coming in at No. 2 on our list.

Jobe was a controversial pick at the time, through no fault of his own. The stuff and raw talent has always been off the charts with this kid. It's just that taking a high school pitcher at the top of draft has rarely worked out over the last 20 years or so.

When Jobe had a pedestrian first season of pro ball in 2022, followed by a back injury in spring training in 2023, those critics, myself included, only got louder. It was not looking too good for Jobe.

But once he got back from that injury, he was a completely different pitcher. He had some command issues in 2022. But in 2023? Those concerns completely evaporated, for the most part. He walked just three batters in 40 innings at High-A West Michigan in 2023. He just flat out refused to walk guys.

On top of that, the stuff was better than ever. The changeup took a massive leap forward. The fastball had some serious ride to it. The high-spin slider? Still filthy. It really looked like he was starting to put it all together.

One issue he still had was the home run ball. Because he threw so many strikes, he had a tendency to leave pitches out over the plate, and they would get crushed. But that's something that can be fixed with further refinement.

Here's what MLB Pipeline has to say about Jackson Jobe:

On a stuff level, you can still see what makes Jobe such a promising young righty. The 6-foot-2 right-hander has sat 95-97 mph in shorter stints since his return (in 2023), and that's even up a few ticks from where it was in the FSL a year ago. His plus-plus slider remains his bread-and-butter with low-80s velo, consistent 3,000-plus rpm of spin and plenty of sweeping depth.

Jobe received his first invite to big league camp this spring, and although he's already been informed that he won't make the squad, there's still a bunch of excitement around him. Reports have him touching 99 mph on his heater in bullpen sessions. Yes, please.

Unfortunately, we got the news on Monday that there's a chance he doesn't pitch in a Grapefruit League game this spring. That's a bummer. We were hoping he'd get at least one outing in a televised game, but it looks like that might not happen.

Still, Jackson Jobe is a heck of a talent, and should be a heck of a pitcher. He's slated to start the season in Double-A, with an outside shot he reaches Detroit by season's end. Jobe might just be the most anticipated Tigers prospect since Justin Verlander. We're not comparing him to JV, but he's had that kind of hype. Hopefully he lives up to it, even just a little bit.