Who is Jackson Jobe? Looking at Tigers’ emerging Ace

When Jackson Jobe was selected by the Detroit Tigers with their third overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the pitcher had just finished his senior year of high school. Now, Jobe appears poised to become one of the top pitchers within his organization.

Born in Texas, Jobe attended Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City, where his coaches first started to realize how powerful the youngster's arm was. In his senior year of high school, Jobe went 9-1 with a 0.13 ERA. In addition to pitching, Jackson Jobe showed off his athleticism by hitting .469 with six home runs and 38 RBIs.

"Jackson Jobe works a perfect 9th inning and looks absolutely terrifying in the process." - Chris Brown

After winning the Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, Jobe ultimately decided to forego his spot on Ole Miss' College Baseball team for the draft. In July 2021, he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers, who subsequently signed the 6-foot-2 right-hander to a $6.9 million bonus.

After being drafted, Jobe spent the 2022 season split between the Florida State League and the Midwest League, both having Single-A classifications. Across 21 total starts between the West Michigan Whitecaps and the Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2022, Jackson Jobe went 4-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 77 innings of work.

In 2023, Jobe began the season with a lumbar spine inflammation, but he was able to get an opportunity to toss six shutout innings in a Double-A game. Ahead of the 2024 season, Jobe was invited to Tigers training camp, where he made one appearance, striking out two Minnesota Twins hitters in one inning of work.

"Jackson Jobe has officially been invited to the Tigers Spring Training roster! How excited are we to see him pitch this spring?" - Griff

Born into an athletic family, Jobe's father, Brandt, is a former professional golfer who was ranked 16th in the world by PGA in 1998. In addition to his fastball, Jobe's breaking pitches, especially his slider, have gained sustained praise from observers.

Jackson Jobe eyes imminent MLB debut

With the Tigers now 11 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central, it may soon come time to try out next-generation players like Jackson Jobe. Last October, Jobe spoke to MLB.com about the popularity of his slider among those who have seen it:

“Everyone loved it, and I had no idea what it meant. I think that might just be a God-given thing right there. I didn’t really work on it or anything. I just had it, I guess"

Though nobody knows for certain when Jobe will get a chance to pitch in MLB, we can be sure that a great many individuals will be anticipating that fateful date.