No, Jackson Jobe will not be making his Major League Baseball debut in September with the Detroit Tigers.
In any case, Jobe, the best pitching prospect in baseball, started Friday’s game for Double-A Erie and didn’t even finish two innings. The right-handed strikeout machine, 22, who is 22 years old, was so upset with his lackluster outing that, as he was leaving the field, he hurled his helmet and glove into the bench.
While MLB rosters expand by two players for the whole month of September, the Tigers are preparing to boost their active roster from 26 to 28 players for their Sunday game at Comerica Park against the Boston Red Sox.
One of the two promotions is anticipated to go to 24-year-old designated hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy; the other is likely to be a pitcher. After making his Major League debut in early June, he played 57 games with the Tigers and hit.217 with eight home runs, 21 walks, and 74 strikeouts.
Prior to Friday’s game, the Tigers made three roster changes, the most notable of which being the reinstatement of right-hander Casey Mize off the injured list and the designation of left-handed reliever Joey Wentz for assignment. With a right shoulder issue, the Tigers also placed right-handed reliever Alex Faedo on the 60-day injured list, ending his season.
The Tigers now have 39 players on their 40-man roster as a result of the Faedo trade.
Before Friday’s 7-5 loss, manager A.J. Hinch stated, “There’s always moves on the horizon.” “The only things to consider are where, what, and when. However, there is nothing to say.”
To be clear, the Tigers don’t currently have any plans to add anyone to their 40-man roster, so the free place is most likely just a way to make room for a waiver claim down the road. Once more, Jobe is not adding to the 40-man roster.
The Tigers intend to elevate players who are currently on the 40-man roster when rosters grow. If that’s the case, the only possibilities for pitching are right-handed reliever Ricky Vanasco and position players are Malloy, outfielder Akil Baddoo, infielder Eddys Leonard, first baseman Bligh Madris, and outfielder Ryan Vilade.
Right-hander Reese Olson (strained right shoulder) and outfielder Wenceel Pérez (strained left oblique) are the two injured players who won’t be ready for Sunday’s call-ups.Both players must finish their recovery assignments with Triple-A Toledo, which should start in a few days…
Vanasco is the lone eligible and healthy pitcher from the 40-man roster who can join the Tigers. Right-hand reliever Mason Englert and left-hand reliever Bryan Sammons were recently optioned to Triple-A Toledo by the Tigers, preventing them from returning for ten days.
After joining Triple-A Toledo, Vanasco, whom the Tigers acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in late July for financial considerations, had a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings pitched with seven walks and fifteen strikeouts. With the Dodgers in mid-April, the 25-year-old made his Major League Baseball debut. Vanasco gets the most out of throwing his fastball toward the upper part of the strike zone, but his curveball and slider don’t draw much pursuit, which eventually results in too many walks.
Because of the opening space on the 40-man roster, the Tigers could always switch to a non-roster pitcher, like right-handed reliever Chase Lee from the Andrew Chafin deal, but it doesn’t seem like they have any plans to do that. However, in order to shield Lee from the Rule 5 draft in early December, he must be added to the 40-man roster by mid-November.
The Tigers have a number of prospects, led by Malloy, to join their roster as position players.
In his debut season with the Tigers, Malloy had an exceptional 19.1% chase rate and an above-average 10.3% walk rate. However, his average exit velocity (86.9 mph), whiff rate (36.2%), and strikeout rate (36.3%) were all below average. He didn’t make enough in-zone contact, but he also didn’t chase bad pitches. Malloy mostly played as the designated hitter and was a liability in left field on defense.
But after the Tigers optioned Malloy on August 19, he played left field in seven of ten games at Triple-A Toledo. He can rejoin the Tigers because he has exactly 12 days remaining with the Mud Hens.
Though he still has a lot of work ahead of him, Jobe, the former third overall draft pick, has the strongest variety of pitches in the Tigers’ development system. With 20 walks and 28 strikeouts in 34 innings throughout his last seven starts for Double-A Erie, he has a 2.65 ERA.
His walk rate of 13.5% isn’t going to get him promoted.
Send an email to epetzold@freepress.com or follow Evan Petzold on Twitter at @EvanPetzold.
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