The Detroit Tigers have been the talk of the baseball world for the improbable finish they had to the 2024 regular season.
They were on a torrid pace from July through the end, resulting in a shocking postseason appearance. The team jumped both the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins in the American League wild card race.
That set them up against the Houston Astros, who had appeared in the ALCS seven straight years. A two-game sweep of that series earned them a spot in the ALDS and a historic, first-time playoff matchup against the Cleveland Guardians.
Game 1 didn’t go their way over the weekend as the unique approach A.J. Hinch has been using with his pitching staff didn’t pay off.
He has been piecing things together behind Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal, using openers, bulk pitchers and bullpen games. Game 2, with their ace on the mound, is a must-win for the Tigers.
While it won’t be much good for the Major League team now, fans can at least rest easy knowing that help is on the way down the road for the rotation. Better health for Reese Olson, Matt Manning and Casey Mize would have been nice, but there are some elite prospects waiting in the wings.
Top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe is one of the best young arms in the game. But, he wasn’t even selected as the team’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2024.
That distinction went to Jaden Hamm.
“After an inconsistent collegiate junior year at Middle Tennessee State, Hamm was taken in the fifth round of the 2023 draft and he allowed just three hits and one unearned run in 12 innings after signing. That strong debut carried over to a breakout 2024 season that saw him log a 2.64 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 122 strikeouts in 99 innings at High-A while surfacing on some leaguewide Top 100 prospect lists,” wrote Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report.
The No. 7 ranked prospect in the team’s farm system, Jobe is the only pitcher who is ahead of him on the list. Only 22 years old and in A+, he has an estimated arrival of 2026 to the MLB.
If Hamm continues performing in the fashion he did in 2024, that ETA could be pushed up a little bit. Following the same path as the team’s No. 1 prospect as a late-season call-up for a playoff race could be in his future as well.
