"Chris And Company" Guest Jackson Jobe Pitched For The Tigers Today And Showed Off Some Of The Nastiest Stuff I've Ever Seen
We have some pretty big baseball dorks at this company, but I don’t think there’s anyone besides me who you’d find standing in the middle of the family room, pumping his fist, following a strikeout in the 9th inning of a spring training game. But that’s exactly what I did today watching Jackson Jobe. It’s a name y’all might want to remember. He was the number three overall pick in the draft back of 2021. After dealing with a few injuries in the early part of his career, he had a great year in the minors a season ago, and he’ll likely start off in AA this year as well. Manager A.J. Hinch already told him that he would not be making the team out of spring training. No need to rush him to the big leagues. That didn’t stop Jobe from making his first spring training appearance today and showing off some of the best stuff I’ve ever seen by a Detroit Tigers pitcher. I’m not joking.
I was aware that Jobe had plus stuff. It’s been highly publicized that he had a firm fastball and a slider with one of the best spin rates in the minor leagues. But even I was taking aback by how filthy he was. He was mixing in different pitches. His first pitch was 101 on the radar gun, which is ridiculous. We saw some of that slider, but we also saw a few nasty changeups and a cutter that peaked at 96. He’s 21 years old. Rest in peace to the competition. Is it silly to hype this guy up so much when we’ve only seen him pitch one inning against professional hitters? Probably, but Jobe was a very controversial pick when the Tigers took him third overall in 2021. The Red Sox took Marcello Mayer after him, who was the guy many wanted. Both guys remain highly sought-after prospects, but I think, for the time being, some stress has been alleviated. Even if it takes him a second to get to the big league level, we know the stuff is potentially generational.
I think it's time for us to answer the question that all of you are probably asking. Is Jackson Jobe's appearance on "Chris And Company" the sole reason for his dynamic stuff? I'll let the audience decide, but I told him off the air (none of this was recorded) that he would go out there and blow people away the first time he stepped down a mound. I predicted 101 on the first pitch, and that's exactly what we got. I may be fabricating a solid percentage of that, but my excitement to see him coming up through the system just increased quite a bit. I will be watching his career very closely.