JUST IN: Tigers Get Worrisome update for Jackson Jobe

The Detroit Tigers’ bullpen excelled in the final five-plus frames of Wednesday’s extra-innings triumph against the Colorado Rockies, so much so that it nearly made fans forget what transpired in the opening four.

In the shortest start of his young career, rookie right-hander Jackson Jobe, who just graduated from MLB Pipeline’s Top-100 Prospects list, was dominated by Colorado’s league-worst offense. Before being pulled by Brant Hurter in the fourth inning, the 22-year-old pitched 3 2/3 innings against the lowly Rockies, giving up six runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out two batters.

Jobe was originally scheduled to begin on Tuesday, but a rainout forced him to postpone his trip by one day. It only got worse as he allowed Ryan McMahon to hit a two-run homer in the first inning. In the third, he allowed Michael Toglia to score two more runs. After allowing another run on two singles in the fourth inning, he was removed from the game.

It was by far the worst start of the campaign for Jobe, who hadn’t given up more than three runs in a start this season prior to Wednesday. He will aim to rebound back in his next start, which is tentatively slated to come against the Boston Red Sox next week.

It’s perhaps time for the Tigers to start worrying about Jackson Jobe

Could Jobe’s subpar performance against the Rockies be a one-off or a sign of something more significant? Unfortunately for the Tigers, the latter is what the underlying data are suggesting.

First off, the only pitcher in the Tigers’ starting rotation with an ERA higher than 4.00 is Jobe (4.88). He has made six starts this season and is 2-0, although he hasn’t lost yet because he is frequently withdrawn before a decision is made.

With an average fastball velocity of 96.3 mph, Jobe is in the 83rd percentile of all Major League pitchers, according to Baseball Savant. Additionally, he has an above-average breaking run value in the 73rd percentile, which indicates how much a pitch’s movement—or lack thereof—affects a play’s run value. But other from that, things are really dire.

In almost every analytical measure used to evaluate MLB pitchers, Jobe performs below average. For example, he is in the 14th percentile for strike rate (16.4%), the 15th percentile for walk rate (12.3%), the 33rd percentile for chase rate (25.6%), and the 21st percentile for whiff rate (20.8%).

This season, the Tigers’ rotation has been excellent overall, but Jobe may be the cause for concern. He won’t always be this fortunate, even though the bullpen saved him against Colorado. Going ahead, it’s worthwhile to closely monitor the bright youngster.