Major League Baseball has recently seen a lot of talented arms come through the prospect industry, and there's a whole lot more of them patiently waiting to make their long awaited debuts.
With how advanced the amateur and college level has become, prospects enter pro ball with some of the same skills as big league pitchers, making it nearly impossible to pick and choose five pitching prospects I believe to be the best.
Regardless, someone has to do it. The biggest factors that I took into account to rank these five pitchers is minor league track record, arsenal depth and effectiveness, and physical projection. With that being said, here are my top five pitching prospects in baseball right now.
1. Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers
Kicking off my top five pitching prospects is Jackson Jobe, the top prospect in the Tigers farm system, and the fifth ranked prospect in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline. Jobe was selected third overall by the Tigers in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma. Since entering Detroit's farm system at the age of 19, Jobe has found nothing but success at each stop of his professional career thus far.
The tantalizing right handed pitcher stands in at 6'2" with a solid frame for a big league starter, and sports two different 70-grade pitches: his fastball and his slider.
Jackson Jobe works a perfect 9th inning and looks absolutely terrifying in the process. pic.twitter.com/5gNwSEhcuU
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrown0914) March 12, 2024
His fastball has reached 101 mph, and during his quick cup of coffee in Detroit at the end of 2024, it averaged 97 mph. His slider, which is more so regarded as a sweeper because of the amount of horizontal break it generates, is lethal to right-handed hitters.
He also has a plus cutter and changeup in his arsenal as well, which each have received a 60 grade from scouts. No other pitching prospect has an arsenal as well-rounded as Jobe's.
In 91.2 innings at High-A West Michigan, Double-A Erie, and Triple-A Toledo in 2024, Jobe posted a 2.36 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.12 WHIP, and a 25.6 K%. He spent most of his time at AA where he logged 73.2 innings with a 1.95 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, and a 27.2 K%. Among pitchers with at least 15 starts at Double-A, all of those marks ranked within the top 20.
Although his MLB debut was very brief (four innings in two relief appearances), Jobe made the Tigers postseason roster and actually had two appearances out of the bullpen as well in the playoffs. This speaks to how highly Detroit views the 22-year-old phenom moving forward.
At the moment, Jobe is projected to be the Tigers number five starter by Fangraph's Roster Resource. It's a possibility he starts the year at Triple-A so the Tigers can ramp him up into starting before joining the big league rotation, but this is an arm you will see a lot of on the mound in Detroit regardless.