The Detroit Tigers promoted right-hander Jackson Jobe, their top prospect, from Low-A Lakeland to High-A West Michigan.
Jobe, who turned 20 a few weeks ago, began the season with the Flying Tigers and pitched 18 games. He had a 4.52 ERA with 25 walks and 71 strikeouts across 61⅔ innings. The Tigers drafted him No. 3 overall in 2021 out of high school in Oklahoma.
“It’s exactly what we hoped to see with Jackson,” Tigers vice president of player development Ryan Garko said in mid-June. “All the noise around being such a high pick has slowed down, and now he’s fitting in great with his teammates.
“On the pitching side, the slider, I think it’s a major-league pitch right now. The changeup is really good. He’s up to 97 (mph). Everything we hoped he would do, he’s now going out there every six days and doing it.”
Jobe last pitched Aug. 17, allowing one run on one hit and three walks in 1⅔ innings, with 25 of 48 pitches for strikes. He tossed five innings of one-run ball (zero walks, six strikeouts) Aug. 3 and six innings of two-run ball (one walk, six strikeouts) Aug. 10. In that outing, the longest of his career, he threw 56 of 77 pitches for strikes.
He joins Josh Crouch, Izaac Pacheco, Jace Jung, Trei Cruz and Dylan Smith, among other prospects, with the Whitecaps.
Pacheco has missed time on the seven-day injured list since suffering a cut to his right hand in an Aug. 9 game. Third baseman Colt Keith, arguably the best hitting prospect in the system, plays for West Michigan but is on the injured list with a shoulder injury.
Jung, the No. 12 overall pick in 2022 out of Texas Tech, is batting .237 with six walks and 10 strikeouts in 10 games.
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