One of the best young players for the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers has been injured. The organization announced Friday afternoon that Jackson Jobe, a right-hander, had been put on the 15-day disabled list due to a Grade 1 flexor strain. In a related move, right-hander Dylan Smith was called up from Triple-A.
Jobe, 22, was our number one pitching prospect going into 2025 and the sixth-best prospect in the game overall. With a 4.22 ERA and below-average strikeout (7.2 K/9) and walk (5.0 BB/9) rates in 10 starts and 49 innings, his rookie season has been rocky at times. Neither preventing harsh contact nor getting ground balls have been particularly strong points for Jobe.
That said, Jobe has shown electrifying power stuff this year and has turned in numerous excellent starts. Flexor strains normally aren’t short-term ailments. According to the Baseball Prospectus Recovery Database, the average pitcher’s absence from a flexor strain from 2021 to 2024 was 111 days, and flexor strains can occasionally result in Tommy John surgery. Sometimes, but not always.
Jobe is one of four starters for the Tigers listed as injured in the major leagues. At the moment, the team’s rotation depth chart looks like this:
- LHPÂ Tarik Skubal
RHP Reese Olson (out with finger inflammation)- RHP Casey Mize
- RHPÂ Jack Flaherty
RHP Alex Cobb (out with hip inflammation)RHP Jackson Jobe (out with flexor strain)- RHP Keider Montero
RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (out with elbow surgery)
Gipson-Long has made five minor league rehab appearances and pitched 16 1/3 innings with a 2.20 ERA. MLB.com reports that he is now with the club in Kansas City and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday. If all goes according to plan, he may be activated off the disabled list to take Jobe’s position in the rotation. The Tigers have not yet made a decision about their rotation plans.
The rotation is largely responsible for the Tigers’ best record in baseball. Detroit’s starters are ranked fifth with 5.8 WAR and fourth with a 3.22 ERA. Jobe was, for want of a better description, the rotation’s “weak link,” but he is incredibly gifted, and young players with skill don’t improve when on the injured list. Jobe and the Tigers are severely harmed by the injury.
Although grade 1 strains are the least severe, this does not guarantee that Jobe will recover fast or that there is no chance that his flexor strain may worsen. Skubal is the finest pitcher in baseball, and the Tigers have established a comfortable lead in the AL Central. They can ride it out and take Jobe’s rotation slot from inside.
It will be a couple more weeks until the trading market heats up. When it comes to playoff play, Flaherty, Mize, and Olson are a formidable 2-4 in any order behind Skubal. It’s possible that the Tigers may search for a back-end depth player rather than a starting pitcher for October if they decide to enter the trade market at some time.
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The Tigers are a half-game ahead of the 36-20 Philadelphia Phillies and have the best baseball record at 37-20. Before this weekend’s matchup against the Royals, Detroit leads the AL Central by six games. Detroit, along with the Yankees, has the greatest odds of qualifying for the playoffs in the American League (-2500 according to DraftKings).
