LAKELAND, Fla. — Jackson Jobe, the Detroit Tigers‘ top pitching prospect, faced his first live batters as a professional Wednesday at the TigerTown backfields as part of minor-league minicamp.
It was like must-see TV.
Everything else seemed to stop.
Members of the front office crowded around the field where Jobe was pitching, as did fellow prospects Ty Madden, Beau Brieske, Garrett Hill, and others. All eyes were on Jobe, who is turning into a theme of this minicamp.
“What matters is going out in the game and performing,” Jobe said Wednesday after his 15-pitch session. “I mean, bullpens are great. Live ABs are great. Obviously, today didn’t go how I planned, but we got about a month and a half until games start. That’s when it really matters.”
Jobe had all the attention early, but Manuel Sequera — a 19-year-old shortstop and reigning Florida Complex League MVP — stole the show. Facing Jobe, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft, he drilled a home run to left field.
“We were a little rusty,” said Jobe, who took on Sequera, Cristian Santana and Andre Lipcius. “But that’s part of it.”
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Somebody screamed in Spanish, and somebody else screamed in what sounded like the universal language: “Heeeee!” Sequera continues to impress; he signed with the Tigers for a $750,000 bonus out of Venezuela in 2019.
Eventually, attention shifted right back to Jobe.
Sequera’s blast was the first home run Jobe has given up in his life.
“Welcome to pro ball, I guess,” Jobe said.
‘I loved it’
Before watching Jobe, Madden went through his 15-pitch live batting practice, with Tigers manager AJ Hinch keeping tabs from behind home plate. He faced a tougher crew: Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Ryan Kreidler and Cooper Johnson.
Did he expect those opponents?
“I had an idea,” Madden said. “I loved it.”
Madden, the No. 32 overall pick in 2021, was untouchable.
Greene swung and missed at three of the four pitches he saw; Torkelson tracked pitches to get comfortable in the batter’s box. Last year, Greene, Torkelson and Kreidler reached Triple-A Toledo and shined.
Entering this season, Greene and Torkelson could make the Tigers’ Opening Day roster.
“They’re elite,” Madden said. “The way they carry their business is professional, and I like it. I like being around them.”
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Madden’s experience in minicamp is preparing him for his first pro season.
“I love the new pitching staff,” Madden said. “Gabe (Ribas, director of pitching) and his team have been unbelievable. The organization they’ve had is awesome, and I’m excited to work with them. (Gabe) will give you a hug, but he’ll chew you out, too. I love being around him. He’s a great guy.”
The 22-year-old could start his career in High-A West Michigan but doesn’t yet know his destination.
“I’m open-minded,” Madden said. “I got to use this year to figure out my routine, going from a seven-day (rotation) in college to five- or six-day here. It’s just using the beginning of the season to figure out what gets my body ready on game day.”
Dingler: ‘Electric stuff’
Dillon Dingler, the Tigers’ top catching prospect, has been impressed with Jobe and Madden.
He has caught both of them in bullpen situations.
“They have got electric stuff,” Dingler said. “So it’s gonna be fun to see them develop through the organization and hopefully get to catch them a little bit more out here.”
Dingler sees something special in Jobe — the same thing Tigers scouts saw before the draft.
“He’s got good ride to his fastball,” Dingler said. “And I think that his intent with his pitches is really special for a kid and his age.”
Actually, he sees the same thing in Madden.
“He’s got really good offspeed,” Dingler said. “He really can sling it. I just hope they progress through the system well and kind of keep the same energy, the same purpose that they have out here.”
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Dingler took a round of live batting practice on Wednesday and mostly tracked pitches.
“It was fun,” Dingler said. “It’s definitely fun getting out here. Obviously, you know, first at-bats against live pitchers come with pitcher jitters, hitter jitters, everything. But it was good. It’s good to feel like we’re playing again.”
‘Great to be out here’
Josh Crouch, a catching prospect, looked comfortable and saw the ball well in live batting practice.
Ka-thwack!
The ball sounded loud off his bat.
“There you go!” somebody screamed.
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In his next swing, he lined the ball up the middle.
He’s an impressive-looking hitter.
“Great to be out here,” he said. “Love it.”
Fireworks display
Jose De La Cruz, an outfielder, has crazy power.
The 20-year-old put one off the blue batter’s eye beyond the 420-foot center field fence for the second time in three days, which had his teammates screaming like they were watching a fireworks display: “Ooooohhhh!”
De La Cruz hit .127 with one homer, 10 walks and 74 strikeouts over 39 games in Low-A Lakeland last season, then was demoted to the Florida Complex League.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.