Tigers upgrade bullpen in the best way possible to boost AL Wild Card chances
The Detroit Tigers took a quiet off day after winning their fifth straight series and made some noise as they announced they are calling up their No. 1 prospect, right-hander Jackson Jobe.
Detroit is now eight games over .500 and control their Wild Card fate, as they are a game up on the Minnesota Twins and tied with Kansas City Royals for the second seed in the Wild Card race. In order to make room for Jobe, the Tigers designated right-hander Shelby Miller for assignment, essentially ending the possibilities of him coming back on a team option next season.
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What does Jackson Jobe bring to the Tigers pitching staff?
No matter what list you are looking at, Jobe, who was drafted third-overall in the 2021 MLB Draft, has seen his star rising over the last year based on a four pitch mix of a cutter, slider, fastball, and a changeup. His slider and changeup are his two most consistent pitches, and he can draw a ton of swings and misses with them both. The Tigers used him out of the bullpen in the spring and the results were impressive with the usage of his fastball.
Jobe did miss sometime with a hamstring injury after he was promoted to Double-A Erie, but had no issue handling the Eastern League. He struck out 81 in 73.2 innings of work (9.9K per 9) with an ERA of 1.95 before making just two starts at Triple-A Toledo.
The Tigers are relying on fresh face in Jackson Jobe
Adding Jobe to the roster continues the philosophy of what manager A.J. Hinch and President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris have been preaching all season long, and that is building a young core of players from within. Since August 11, Detroit has a 27-11 record, the best in the majors, and their win on Saturday snapped the team’s streak of seven consecutive seasons.
Tigers fans all weekend were pinching themselves based on the current level of play. Now with Jobe being called up, it gives fans another reason to head down to Comerica Park as the future continues to be bright for Detroit.
