Detroit’s Jackson Jobe already has pitched in a playoff game.
But the right-hander, considered one of the top prospects in baseball, has yet to make a major league start.
That’s scheduled to happen Monday night when the Tigers open a three-game series in Seattle.
“If that doesn’t describe baseball in a nutshell,” mused Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.
Jobe, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft, was called up last September and made two regular-season relief appearances (0-0, four innings, no runs) before also being thrown into a pair of postseason contests. The Tigers made a surprising run in the playoffs, sweeping Houston in the wild-card round before losing to Cleveland in an American League Division Series.
“I think being kind of thrown into the fire last year will definitely make starts a lot easier, just knowing that I’ve been in some of the biggest situations you can be in,” the 22-year-old said. “But I’ll still have those butterflies and everything before every start, which is what I love. It makes it so fun. It’ll be cool.
“I’ll be nervous for sure. It’ll be awesome. I’ll have some family, some people there. But it’ll be exciting. This is what I worked my whole life for, just feel blessed and grateful to have the opportunity to go out there and pitch for this team.”
Jobe added a curveball to his repertoire in the offseason, giving him six pitches — including a high-90s fastball — with which to attack batters.
“I feel like the physical stuff is all there. Now it’s just kinda mentally dialing in what I’m trying to do with each pitch,” Jobe said. “It’s just getting in the five-day routine and getting into the rhythm of things. I feel comfortable and my stuff is in a good spot. Now it’s time to just go out and execute.”
The Tigers could use a boost after being swept in a three-game series by the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on the road. Detroit surrendered an early two-run lead Saturday in a 7-3 defeat before getting a rare Sunday off.
“He hasn’t asked a ton of questions. He hasn’t even asked me who’s catching him yet,” Hinch said of Jobe. “I think he’s sort of staying within his routine. He’ll watch some video. He’ll get himself underway. I think the Sunday off day will be hardest for him, just because of the eagerness to get on the mound.”
Jobe will face a Seattle ballclub that struggled offensively in splitting a four-game series with the visiting Athletics to open the season. The Mariners managed just five hits in each game.
Julio Rodriguez launched a two-run homer nearly to the top of the second deck in left field in the sixth inning Sunday to give Seattle a 2-1 victory.
The blast, estimated at 438 feet, was the longest hit by someone not wearing the New York Yankees’ pinstripes this season.
“You can’t control where you hit the ball,” Rodriguez said. “Hitting is already difficult. I got a good pitch, got out front, and I was able to drive it that way.”
To Mariners manager Dan Wilson, it was a good example of what Rodriguez has been working on with Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez, the team’s senior director of hitting strategy.
“We talk about it a lot with staying to the middle of the field,” Wilson said. “You’ll get your fastball, and you’ll be able to hit that up the middle or the other way, and then the breaking ball that’s out front, you’ll catch it early and hit that a long way to the pull side. And that’s what Julio did.”
The Mariners are scheduled to start right-hander Emerson Hancock (4-4, 4.75 ERA last season) in the series opener. Hancock, the No. 6 overall pick in 2020, made the Opening Day roster with George Kirby on the injured list because of shoulder inflammation.
Hancock has yet to face the Tigers in his young career.
–Field Level Media
