The Tigers announced that pitching prospect Jackson Jobe will be selected to the roster prior to tomorrow’s game. He will pitch out of the bullpen and right-hander Shelby Miller will be designated for assignment as the corresponding move, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X.
It’s been a wild season for the Tigers. They were a bit below .500 for a lot of the summer and ultimately acted as straightforward sellers at the deadline. They flipped out impending veteran free agents Jack Flaherty, Andrew Chafin, Mark Canha and Carson Kelly.
With two months left to go in the season, they gave playing time to their younger players, looking to see who would step forward and take on roles in 2025 and beyond. But the results have been so positive that the club has resurrected what looked like a lost season. They have gone 30-17 over August and September as other American League clubs have scuffled. As of today, the Tigers and Royals are tied for the final two Wild Card spots with the Twins one game back and the Mariners two games back.
With one week left and the Tigers looking to put the finishing touches on their improbable comeback, they are willing to consider all options for strengthening their club, which apparently includes calling up one of the top prospects in baseball.
Jobe, now 22, was selected third overall in the 2021 draft. Going into 2022, he hadn’t yet made his professional debut but was already considered one of the top prospects in the league, as Baseball America ranked him #79 overall at that time. He didn’t post amazing results immediately. He made 18 starts at Single-A to begin his career, logging 61 2/3 innings. He struck out 26.3% of batters faced and walked 9% but allowed 12 home runs, leading to a 4.52 ERA. He was promoted to High-A for three starts to finish the year with better results, posting a 1.15 ERA in those.
In 2023, inflammation in his lower back prevented him from getting into a game until the middle of June, but he performed well from there. He tossed 64 innings across multiple levels with a 2.81 ERA, 32.6% strikeout rate and miniscule walk rate of 2.3%. Here in 2024, he has thrown 91 2/3 innings, again across multiple levels. He has a 2.36 ERA in those 21 starts, striking out 25.6% of batters faced but walking 12%.
The strong results have boosted his prospect stock. Baseball America currently ranks him second overall, behind only Roman Anthony of the Red Sox. MLB Pipeline has him #6 and FanGraphs #15. ESPN ranked him #9 last month while Keith Law of The Athletic put him at #10 in July. He sits in the mid to high 90s with his fastball and has a slider/sweeper that is considered his best pitch, as well as featuring a changeup and cutter.
Jobe is considered a potential future ace but will join the club’s relief mix for now. That’s understandable since his workload this year is already a personal high and thrusting an inexperienced guy into a rotation role in the middle of a tight playoff race could lead to unknown results. However, it’s also worth noting that the Tigers haven’t been deploying a traditional pitching staff of late, using a lot of openers followed by bulk guys to strong results. Though Jobe will be working as a reliever, it’s entirely possible that manager A.J. Hinch could give him lots of innings if that seems to be the best course of action.
Exactly how and when the club lets Jobe loose remains to be seen, but it’s an intriguing development for the final week of the regular season and perhaps into the playoffs. If the Tigers hold on to play in October, Jobe should be eligible to participate. If a player is in an organization but not on a 40-man roster prior to September, they are often granted an exception by the commissioner to be postseason eligible.
Jobe won’t have enough time to exhaust his rookie status here in 2024, so the Tigers will be able to keep prospect promotion incentives on the table for 2025. Per the collective bargaining agreement, top prospects can earn their clubs extra draft picks if they are promoted for a full year of service and meet certain awards voting criteria. If Jobe is able to secure a rotation job out of the gate in 2025, that could be in play next year. He’ll be competing for a gig next to Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Casey Mize, Keider Montero, Brant Hurter, Kenta Maeda and others.
Miller, 33, signed with the Tigers in the offseason on a one-year deal with a $3MM guarantee, club option and incentives. That investment hasn’t paid off especially well for the club. He has tossed 55 2/3 innings this year with a 4.53 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. He seems to have fallen out of favor, only pitching twice since September 6 and not at all since September 17.
The Tigers will put him on waivers in the coming days but there will be little incentive for any club to claim him. He won’t be postseason eligible for any other team and the regular season is almost done. He’s an impending free agent so there’s no long-term benefit. If he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency. He accept an outright assignment and hope for a postseason opportunity to open up, as Carlos Carrasco just did with the Guardians, or perhaps he will simply decide to get his offseason started ahead of schedule.
truthlemonade
Quite a lot of Gen Z young men named Jackson.
dkhits20
Just MLB rookies alone, you have Churio, Holliday, Merrill and now Jobe.
RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame
Matches up to the Sons of Anrachy time frame. Jax was the main character, and apparently, the ladies loved him
Jef Leppard
Whoa. I did NOT see this coming. He wasn’t exactly dominating in Toledo.
Dtownwarrior78
None of the Tigers BP arms that are killing it in the bigs had good numbers at Toledo or Erie. Just sayin
YourDreamGM
2 games
Smelly_Cobb
Need all the help they can get for this final push
mlb fan
“Final push”…I LOVE to see unexpected teams firing on all cylinders. I’m looking for someone or some team to prevent the Yankees from reaching the WS and if the Tigers can do it, they’d suddenly become my new favorite team.
Motor City Beach Bum
Replay of the Tigers vs Padres WS from 1984!
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
I’m surprised they called him up this late in September
Tigersin2050
Interesting time to do this…I’m excited to see Jobe up, but right now every inning is playoff-like importance. Maybe he can eat some innings against the White Sox this weekend, but I wouldn’t want a debut when we are in close games right now. Maybe they’re thinking the lack of a scouting report will be to their advantage as hitters are forced to hit his (really good) stuff on the fly. Idk. Seems odd.
doobiejc
Bullpen. He can just let it fly for an inning
Motor City Beach Bum
I agree Doobie…power bullpen arm for that final push over the next 6 gamesto grab a spot. Whatever it takes!!!
jimmyz
I see this move as a big sign that the front office believes in him long term. Even if he doesn’t pitch at all just being in a playoff push environment and being around the MLB players and coaches for a week will give him a lot more knowledge and understanding of the game than being in the minors.
stevetampa
Is SMiller injured? I see where he has given up 2 ERs in his last 15.2 IPs
xXTheFETTXx
It’s not so much that he is injured, rather everyone else in the pen has been so much better. Miller did his role, but he is the odd main out on a young team.
For Love of the Game
Low K rate and low BABIP is not a good combination. Add in increased tendency to give up HRs and the outcome isn’t good. He can’t be trusted in leverage situations. Beau Brieske looked great on Saturday when Jason Foley tried to cough up a 4-2 lead. In a potential walk-off situation, Brieske got out of an inning with guys on 2nd and 3rd an no one out.
Rishi
Hasn’t been as sharp last 5 or so appearances but definitely has been very good for quite awhile now. Had been doing great limiting the walks until recently too.
Datashark
His minor stats in AA are good, but Tigers need a look at what they have although why end of season are they rushing him to get someone to play into playoffs with little scouting on him.
I am surprised I did not realize Shelby was still in the game, now seeing his stats he didn’t do so bad this year surely he will latch onto a team next year.
Jef Leppard
Miller has a 0.97 WHIP, and a 4.53 ERA? Huh?
dkhits20
In Miller’s case, the 0.97 WHIP is a little deceiving. He’s been prone to giving up homers in high-leverage situations and has blown 7 saves. He is coming off a decent stretch though so the timing is interesting.
xXTheFETTXx
Knew this was coming….100mph with crazy movement, even out of the pen, he will get us some innings.
DongKelly
Miller was not nearly as good as any of the numbers may indicate
Patrick OKennedy
Miller’s HR/9 ratio was way to high to trust him in high leverage situations.
The Tigers have an option on him for $4.25 M for 2025 and they’d be declining that and paying him a buyout of $250K. He also gets a bonus of 100K for pitching over 50 IP (he’s pitched 51) with bonuses of 100K at 55, 60, etc
warnbeeb
A little surprised it’s Miller, but frankly, if they make the playoffs I could see him and Maeda being left off the roster. Jobe, can’t regardless.. He wasn’t on the 40-man by September.
Could he be an opener? He can touch 100 mph. Just a one inning guy?
Hinchy sure looks like he wants to bullpen his way into the playoffs.
bseventeen
I think Jobe can pitch in the playoffs – he was in their system all year. I don’t think not being on the 40 man makes a difference
MattStats5
You’re correct. Being on the 40 man isn’t a requirement. Just had to be in the organization by 1 Sep.
warnbeeb
However, if I understand this correctly, he can only get on the post season roster by replacing an injured player. There’s some chatter that the Tigers would need to petition MLB to allow him to replace a current “injured” 40 man player to get on. Sawyer, Gibson0-Long is who is being mentioned.
Mike56
Not as good as his numbers indicated huh? I do not follow Tigers but other than HR numbers look pretty good. Kinda wonder how his era is 4.53
YourDreamGM
Era should be 5. Guys been incredibly lucky 2 seasons in a row.
Dtownwarrior78
I love this move! A ton of the BP arms that the Tigers have brought up have had much better numbers in the bigs for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with being up on the roster with Chris Fetterer as the pitching coach. This guy is straight up the best pitching mind in the league right now. Just look at some of the pitchers he’s helped either rebound or get better. Ask Skubal, Micheal Lorenzen last year, Jack Flaherty, etc. Hope JJ pitches in these last few series and maybe get a few innings under his belt for possible playoff roster spot!
t0bIe1CaN0bI
I’d rather him go to AFL and come to ST but if getting rid of Shelby is the result, I’m ok with it. Not only is Maeda signed for another year, but we need a mop up guy that can help rest other releivers.
raz427
One more player needs to be called up, and I’m waiting for a poster to have the username “The Jackson 5”.
Diabetic Rockstar
Huh?
tigerdoc616
Exciting but at the same time makes little sense. He has had 2 starts above AA this year and you are going to pitch him with a possible playoff berth on the line? I get Miller has had an up and down year, but most recently up. Tigers had two guys on the 40 man in the minors, Sammons and Vansesco who are not in the team’s future. Why not let one of them go? Miller is also a veteran who has pitched in the playoffs. That is experience the Tigers could use this time of year.
dkhits20
I disagree about Vanasco. He wasn’t a throw-in from a trade – the Tigers actually made a point to purchase him from the Dodgers a couple months ago and he’s looked sharp ever since. Plus, he’s only 25.
Sammons might be in a different boat because he’s 29, but he’s been effective for us in the limited time he was up. I can think of at least a couple other arms I’d cut loose before him.
We still needed to open a spot on the 28-man though, and that’s the reason Shelby was the odd-man out.
JoeBrady
Those MLB ranking are whacked if they have Mayer #3, and I am a RS fan. I hope they’re right, but I never thought of him nearly this high. Same with FG. Am I missing something?
Thefrogsaregey
Where is senorsmoke the angry idiot????????????????????????????
Still calling Harris and the tiger coaches stupid?
TroyVan
I remember in Spring Training, he absolutely dominated the Twins who were all visibly in awe of his offerings.
I would like to see him close ballgames. But, I’m not sure pitching in so many games would be a wise decision when it comes to his arm. They’ll probably give him one of their “starter” roles where he gives them 3-4 innings after the opener every fifth day and move Brieske bask to the back end.
Senor Smoke
This is not your average 22 year old fireballer. In fact, AVILA drafted him on the basis of the other-worldly spin on his slider. This move surprised me and didn’t surprise me. Jackson is a very confident young man and wasting bullets in the minors at this point. The sly part of it is, nobody in Detroit wants to miss his debut, so Junior has assured himself of full houses for the next week.. Hopefully TJ Fetter doesn’t “tinker” with him and moron Hinch lets him sit for at least a game to soak in the atmosphere and get his feet on the ground. He’s never worked with either Rogers or Ding to my knowledge so I’d put Rogers with him for his first appearance. And what does Rogers say to him? “Pay no attention to any of this hoopla…this is you on the mound…you know what to do….do as I tell you…..Let’s play catch, kid.”