Well over a year ago, Jackson Jobe was shelved due to season-ending elbow surgery. But after a long rehab road and five Minor League starts, Jackson Jobe will make his Tigers return on August 8 against the San Francisco Giants. This is what Jobe was up to during that assignment.
The numbers
Overall, it was a very successful rehab stint for Jackson Jobe, who made five rehab starts and pitched for four different Minor League affiliates (FCL, A, A+, AA). Across those five outings, Jobe struck out 17 over 15.1 IP and posted a 1.76 ERA.
The right-hander only got four outs during his first outing, way back on July 7, over 32 pitches. He raised that total to 38 pitches (plus one automatic strike violation) over three scoreless on the 13th against the Blue Jays’ FCL affiliate.
Jobe threw 44 and 54 pitches, respectively, during his two Double-A starts, which came on July. He only had a 22% Whiff% combined between those two starts but threw more called strikes than swings-and-misses to make up for it. Plus, he allowed just five hits over seven innings with the Seawolves.
During his final start, which came in High-A West Michigan, Jobe struck out five over four innings and 69 total pitches. He walked two and allowed five hits.
The velocity
Pitch velocity was not an issue for Jobe during his rehab stint, and that was clear from the onset.
During his first outing with Low-A Lakeland, Jobe averaged 99 MPH and topped out at 100 MPH. Granted, that was over 1.1 IP, so the next big hurdle would be whether or not he can maintain, or at the very least, hold close over the following innings of his following starts.
The only start from his assignment in which we had Statcast date available was, oddly enough, was on July 13 when he pitched in the FCL. That game was played at Joker Marchant Stadium during the All-Star Game break. Jobe flirted with 100 MPH on average during the first, averaging 99 MPH. It dipped in the second and third frame but held first.
The one thing to note where was that Jobe came out of the gate throwing fastballs in this outing. During the second & third innings, he showed more sliders and changeups.
During his final starts, yes, Jobe was able to crank it up to the upper-90s, both in Erie & West Michigan.
With UCL reconstruction surgery now in the rear view, it’s now time for Jobe to help the club push for a playoff spot. Obviously, losing a pitcher like Jobe for well over a year was not ideal, either for him or the Tigers. But given that the stuff looks a lot like it did both in 2024 when he first arrived, as well as 2025, the Tigers can breath somewhat of a sigh of relief.
And from a long-term perspective, the Tigers can now look towards a future will a defined 1-2 punch of young righties between Jobe and Troy Melton, the latter of whom has been one of baseball’s starters in his second season.
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