SAN FRANCISCO -- When Jackson Jobe took the mound against the Giants at Oracle Park on Tuesday night in the Tigers’ final exhibition game ahead of the 2025 season, he did so knowing he was on the cusp of a golden opportunity.
Jobe, MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 prospect overall and No. 2 pitching prospect, commanded a spot in Detroit’s starting rotation out of Spring Training. Alongside fellow right-hander Casey Mize, the pair filled out what looks to be one of the most formidable starting rotations in baseball in 2025.
Jobe, 22, did appear in two regular-season games down the stretch for the Tigers last season, making two more appearances in the postseason – though all four of these outings were in relief.
That means that the next time he takes the hill, Jobe will be living out a childhood dream that has fueled his drive toward a spot in Detroit’s present and future, as well as a potential bid for Detroit’s first Rookie of the Year Award since Michael Fulmer in 2016.
“It’s super cool,” said Jobe of his situation after concluding his spring by striking out five in four innings on three different pitches with his only blemish being a two-run homer to San Francisco’s Tyler Fitzgerald. “I definitely got thrown into the fire [pitching in the postseason], like you said. That was an incredible experience. I’m hoping I get the same kind of nerves and excitement going into this one, which I think I will. So I’m super pumped.”
Mize, too, impressed in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Giants, recording seven strikeouts and finishing his spring with a 1.89 ERA – as both right-handers flashed the sort of skills Detroit would love to see every fifth day.
A strong spring showing saw Jobe post a 3.86 ERA in five games, trotting out a new curveball to add to his versatile pitch mix that last season featured a four-seam fastball, a cutter, a changeup, and a sweeper.
In Tuesday night’s final tuneup before the regular season, Jobe threw 68 pitches, splitting up his repertoire with 25 four-seamers, 14 cutters, seven sinkers, three sweepers and nine of those curveballs – generating four swings and two whiffs on the offering, including two of his strikeouts.
“I'm going to keep mixing it in,” said Jobe of the curve. “I felt like I threw some good ones and threw some not-so-good ones today, so as I keep going, I’ll keep mixing it in and continue to get a better feel for it. But I feel good about where everything’s at.”
The sparkling young phenom heads into 2025 as part of a Tigers rotation that the club will need to rely upon in order to prove the postseason push of ‘24 wasn’t a fluke.
Anchored by reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, Detroit will be looking to Jack Flaherty, Jobe, Mize, and Reese Olson to lay the foundation for a young offense on a daily basis.
“He’s everything you’d expect out of a guy who won a Cy Young,” said Jobe of Skubal. "He’s super dialed, he takes his work super seriously, so to share the same clubhouse with him and get to work with him is pretty cool.”
Some last-minute uncertainty regarding the club’s outfield rotation caused by injury setbacks to Wenceel Pérez, Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and the addition of veteran outfielder Manuel Margot will affect the lineup right out of the gate – making the rotation arms even more crucial for the Tigers.
Detroit’s offense was 24th in the Majors with a cumulative .234 average a season ago, despite a second-half surge that powered the club to a Wild Card berth and Wild Card Series win over Houston. If this rotation is able to be the anchor it needs to be, the Tigers will have a great chance to make even more noise in the AL Central.
“I think we have high expectations for this year,” Jobe said, “especially after what we did last year. Everyone expects to be in that situation and go even further, so we're excited for it. The boys are pumped.”
Their rotation solidified and with lofty goals ahead of them, the Tigers will begin their quest on Thursday against the high-powered Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Not a bad early challenge for a club eager to prove its mettle on the national scene.