Lakeland, Fla. — A little perspective check Monday for Tigers’ first-round draft pick Jackson Jobe after he threw to hitters for the second time at this minicamp.
He was asked how many home runs he’s given up in his professional career thus far?
“Two,” he said, before being quickly corrected. The answer is zero. Minicamp homers don’t show up on your Baseball-Reference page.
Still, being the competitor that he is, allowing two home runs in two live bullpen sessions to two young shortstops on the same mis-located fastball bugs him some. Manuel Sequera got him, on a high-inside fastball, last Wednesday.
On Monday, Cristian Santana somehow got the barrel on a high, outside fastball and pulled it over the left-field fence.
“I talked to him after, I was like, ‘Dude, how are you hitting that?’” said Jobe, who didn’t give up a single home run in high school or travel ball. “I went two sliders and got him 0-2. Then he took a slider and he fouled off a sinker in. I go to the fastball up and away.
“I don’t know how hard it was, but he got around it. Props to him.”
Mis-locating fastballs was the secondary lesson Jobe learned Monday. It was brought to his attention after that he might have been tipping his pitches.
“It’s something we’re going to check out in the video room and get a handle on it,” he said.
He said he thinks hitters are able to read his grip because he pulls the ball out of his glove too early, exposing the grip a little too long.
“I was a little better today overall,” he said. “I had a lot more swings and misses at the fastball than I had the other day. I feel like we’re making progress. I know it’s going to take time.”
The highlight of his day, without question, was his three-pitch punch-out of his buddy, fellow draft classmate and roommate Izaac Pacheco.
“It was unexpected, but it was awesome,” Jobe said. “Finally got it out of the way. Looking forward to more opportunities for him to be in there.”
So is Pacheco, the Tigers’ second-round pick. He saw a first-pitch fastball, then two nasty sliders. He fouled the first slider off and whiffed on the second.
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“It was a good experience,” Pacheco said. “I was going to face him sooner or later. I got some swings off, but I kind of wish I got some more fastballs.”
Said Jobe: “He had a chance to hit a fastball.”
Ha. The trash talk, Jobe said, would continue.
“We’ll give it a couple of days and let him hear it,” Jobe said. “Because I know I’d be getting the same.”
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky