With the No. 3 pick in the 2021 Draft, the Tigers selected right-hander Jackson Jobe. But who is Jobe? Here’s everything you need to know about the right-hander.
FAST FACTS
Primary position: P
Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 190 lbs.
Bats/throws: Right/right
Birthdate: July 30, 2002 (Age 18 on Draft Day)
High school: Heritage Hall (Okla.)
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Okla.
College commitment: Mississippi
His ascension to top pitching prospect happened recently
For much of his high school career, Jobe was a shortstop who also happened to pitch. At the 2020 Perfect Game National Showcase, Jobe was so impressive on the mound that his Draft stock skyrocketed. From that point on, he was a pitching prospect first and a shortstop second.
He put the finishing touches on his high school career by winning the Gatorade Award as Oklahoma’s high school player of the year in 2021.
Oklahoma to MLB — a rich pipeline
The state of Oklahoma has a rich baseball history that includes Hall of Famers such as Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench and the Waner brothers, Paul and Lloyd. Notable recent first-round Draft picks from Oklahoma schools include Cade Cavalli in ‘20; Kyler Murray in ‘18; Jon Gray and Chi Chi González in ‘13; Andrew Heaney in ‘12; and Dylan Bundy, Archie Bradley and Michael Fulmer in ‘11.
Jobe could be the earliest high school player drafted out of Oklahoma since Bundy went fourth overall to the Orioles in 2011. Bundy, though, made it clear early on that he was headed for a top Draft slot, winning Oklahoma’s high school player of the year award in three straight seasons. Jobe has come out of nowhere over the past year.
Jobe is the top high school pitcher on MLB Pipeline’s Draft board, ranked seventh overall. The last time a high school pitcher was selected among the first 10 picks in the Draft was 2018, when Ryan Weathers and Carter Stewart went seventh and eighth, respectively.
Recent MLB.com mock drafts have had Jobe going third overall to the Tigers. A high school hurler hasn’t gone among the top five picks since 2017, when Hunter Greene went second and MacKenzie Gore went third.
His slider might be the best pitch in the Draft
Jobe has turned heads with a wipeout slider that has registered spin rates above 3,000 rpm. To put that in perspective, the big league average spin rate on sliders typically falls between 2,300 and 2,500 rpm, and anything at 2,800 rpm or higher would be considered elite.
Jobe also has a four-seam fastball that tops out at 96 mph, and he’s improved his changeup to the point where some evaluators think it is now nearly as good as his slider.
Better than the Vandy aces?
Vanderbilt’s two aces, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, have received significant attention throughout the college season and are both expected to be selected in the top 10.
But some clubs have Jobe ranked higher on their Draft boards, and MLB.com’s Jim Callis writes that Jobe “has a better combination of stuff and command” than the Vandy righties.