Tigers prospect Jackson Jobe’s first MLB start was imperfect, but promising

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SEATTLE — In the cool Seattle air, Jackson Jobe walked down the dugout steps and got the handshake from Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.

His first major-league start was over after four innings. Jobe surrendered three runs Monday against the Seattle Mariners. He walked four batters and struck out three. It was an imperfect game, one that both hinted at Jobe’s potential and reminded how far he has left to climb. So before Jobe disappeared into the dugout tunnel, Hinch pulled him close, patted him on the chest and offered a few words.

“I just told him he’s really good,”Hinch said. “It’s a tough night to pitch, and I know he has a lot of expectation, and he was coming out a little earlier than he wanted. … I just wanted to give him a little encouragement and let him know that he’s gonna have plenty of games where he’s going deeper, to the middle or late part of the game, and I was proud of his effort.”

Jobe made his debut out of the bullpen late last September for the Tigers. He pitched in two postseason games, both in crucial spots. So in a way, the dynamic around his first start was strange. Jobe has already felt the adrenaline of the postseason. Has already pitched as fans chanted his name. But this was his first time in his natural role as a starter.

Mom and dad and friends from back home were in the stands, basking in the moment in their deep green seats. It felt as if Jobe was debuting all over again, even if you would never know it from the look on the young pitcher’s face. “He was calm, cool and collected,” catcher Dillon Dingler said.

Any nerves might have eased by the time Jobe stepped on the rubber in the bottom of the first inning at T-Mobile Park. His Tigers teammates put up a six-run first and chased Mariners starter Emerson Hancock from the game. As the half-inning neared the 20-minute mark, Jobe retreated into the batting cages, ran and threw to stay loose. “A good problem to have, for sure,” Jobe said.

His first pitch was a 97 mph fastball off the plate. His next 78 pitches showed nearly every side of his game. He spun crippling changeups and pounded disarming cutters. He also missed to both sides of the plate and had two middle-middle fastballs crushed for home runs. Jobe’s mistakes to Randy Arozarena and Luke Raley put a damper on his starter debut. So did the four walks and the fact he threw only 48 of his 79 pitches for strikes.

“There was a lot of good, and there was also a lot of miss,” Hinch said. “It looked like a little bit of a classic game of middle or miss. And the middle got hit.”

In 2020, Jackson Jobe was trying to throw 90 mph, and Alex Marney was coaching in a barn.

Now Jobe is preparing for this first MLB start. And Marney’s @PitchingWRX is a high-tech facility on the rise.

“It’s like we kind of built the facility together.”https://t.co/WgynSMvQG6 pic.twitter.com/75bGbPcJ8G

— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) March 31, 2025

Even in an outing that had its flaws, Jobe showed why the Tigers always wanted him on this roster. He induced 10 whiffs. The cutter and changeup were encouraging, even if his much-hyped curveball hardly factored in. He controlled damage and never seemed rattled, even when the bases were packed with traffic. The Tigers got their first victory of the season Monday night by a score of 9-6.

“I felt all right,” Jobe said. “Wish I had a couple of those pitches back, but I feel like I pitched well in certain situations. There were things I could have done better, but we got the win.”

For Jobe, this was but one moment in what could be a long career. The first step on a much longer path. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and fellow starter Casey Mize have said Jobe has the best stuff on this team. Talking in the clubhouse before the game, someone asked Skubal: What makes Jobe so special?

“Have you seen it?” Skubal said. “That’s what’s special. A lot of pitches for strikes. He’s 22. It’s pretty impressive. As a 22-year-old, I wasn’t nearly as good.”

For all his talent, no one expected Jobe to dominate from the jump. Justin Verlander went 5 1/3 innings and surrendered four runs in his debut. Skubal lasted only two innings, threw 52 pitches and gave up four runs. There is a learning curve in the major leagues. We saw the areas where Jobe can improve all spring. He has to attack the strike zone without giving up loud contact. He has to finish hitters with two strikes. The refinement should come in time.

“I can’t say enough about the job that (Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter) and those guys have done,” Alex Marney, Jobe’s pitching coach back home in Oklahoma, said recently. “While it may not seem evident to everybody out in the world, there is work being done and there’s adjustments being made. Sometimes adjustments are fruitful right off the bat, and sometimes they take a little while.”

With two outs in the fourth inning, Jobe was down 3-0 to Victor Robles, who ended up being Jobe’s final hitter. The young right-hander battled back to a full count, attacking Robles with heat. Then Robles fouled off two 3-2 pitches.

Sweat glistened on Jobe’s forehead. He threw an 88 mph dart of a cutter that ran from Robles’ bat to finish the job.

That at-bat reflected Jobe’s room for improvement. The result showed how good he can be.

“Obviously wish I could go out there and go scoreless every time out,” Jobe said, “but that’s just not the reality of it. (I’ll) take this start, learn from it and keep growing.”

(Photo: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images)

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