Yes, Jackson Jobe Is Eligible For The 2024 MLB Playoffs

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The Tigers went all-in on their push for the postseason on Monday, calling up MLB’s top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe to join the big league roster ahead of the final week of the regular season.

Detroit had less than a one percent chance of reaching the playoffs as of early August, according to Fangraphs’ playoff odds. Yet the surging Tigers entered Tuesday with a one-game lead in the Wild Card standings after capitalizing on late-season swoons from the Royals and Twins. They essentially control their own destiny to set up a potential run deeper into October.

The Tigers’ pursuit becomes even more entertaining with the 22-year-old Jobe, who has a fastball that tickles triple digits in short bursts and a wicked sweeper, to their pitching staff.

But there seems to be some confusion as to whether Jobe is eligible for the playoffs.

The short answer is yes. Because Jobe was in the Tigers’ organization at the end of August–even despite not being on the 40-man roster–Detroit can petition to add him to a postseason roster as an injury replacement for another player.

Jobe could replace Sawyer Gipson-Long, who had Tommy John surgery in April and then an additional hip surgery in July. He is on the 60-day injured list and will miss the rest of the season.

There is some precedent here, too. The D-backs petitioned to add Jordan Lawlar to their playoff roster in 2023 despite calling him up on Sept. 7. Adalberto Mondesi is another famous example, debuting in the 2015 World Series for the Royals.

Jobe Remains Prospect Promotion Incentive Eligible In 2025

With the introduction of the Prospect Promotion Incentive in 2022, as detailed earlier this month, teams are now incentivized to carry top prospects on Opening Day rosters.

Even with the late-season callup, Jobe will retain his rookie status for 2025. He can add PPI eligibility if he makes the Tigers’ Opening Day roster and spends all season in the big leagues. If Jobe adds PPI eligibility and then wins 2025 AL Rookie of the Year, then the Tigers will add a draft pick after the first round in 2026.

What Should You Expect From Jobe?

Of course, there’s a distinction between whether Jobe can and will impact the 2024 postseason. He ranks as the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball and has four potentially plus pitches, as we highlighted this week. He has pitched well when healthy this year, posting a 2.36 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 91.2 innings across three levels.

We recommend proceeding with cautious optimism. Jobe’s arsenal is elite, but he pitched just nine innings for Triple-A Toledo. He has also never officially appeared out of the bullpen in a regular season game, though his relief appearance this year at the Spring Breakout certainly caught everyone’s attention. Impacting MLB postseason games with such limited experience is a tall task.

Jobe may just have the stuff to do it, especially in shorter stints out of the bullpen. Here’s our full scouting report on Jobe entering the season.

Jackson Jobe Scouting Report

Track Record: Like organization-mate Max Clark, Jobe was a BA High School Player of the Year winner. Jobe won the award in 2021, the year the Tigers drafted him third overall and signed him for $6.9 million. He reached High-A West Michigan late in 2022 and would have returned there to open 2023 if not for inflammation in his lower back that forced him to miss the first two and a half months of the season. Jobe ended the campaign on a high note with a 22-inning walk-less streak for West Michigan and Double-A Erie, then added four more effective starts in the Arizona Fall League. Jobe’s 69.3% strike percentage was among the tops in the minors.

Scouting Report: Jobe is a hitter’s nightmare. He can attack a batter in multiple ways with plus stuff and plus command. Other than missing the first half of the season, Jobe did everything the Tigers could have hoped for in 2023. He dominated hitters, threw strikes and improved his delivery.

While he was sidelined, Jobe worked to become more direct to the plate. He also tightened up his plus-plus mid-80s slider, which improved his control of the pitch. His plus 95-97 mph four-seam fastball has above-average life, and he shows plenty of confidence in his plus mid-80s changeup. He also added an average 90-92 mph cutter that can help generate weak contact. Jobe can force hitters to protect the entire plate, because his fastball is effective in the top third of the zone, his slider works glove side and down and his changeup has ride and fade to the armside edge of the zone. His cutter messes with hitters who think they’re seeing a fastball.

The Future: Jobe’s slow start meant he only reached Double-A Erie in the final week of the regular season, but if he can stay healthy, it’s realistic to think he could advance to Detroit in 2024. He has what scouts look for in a front-of-the-rotation starter.