Jackson Jobe joins Detroit Tigers on trip to Tampa, not to pitch but to meet Gerrit Cole

TAMPA — Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch had a surprise for Jackson Jobe.

The 21-year-old top pitching prospect joined the Tigers for his first road game of spring training on Sunday. Jobe stepped off the bus and walked into George M. Steinbrenner Field, home of the New York Yankees. He sat outside of the visitor's clubhouse in the tunnel of the ballpark, and for about 20 minutes, his favorite pitcher was sitting across from him, sharing invaluable advice.

It was Gerrit Cole.

"That's the guy I've looked up to for a very long time," Jobe said. "I was a little nervous going into it, but once we started going, we talked about pitching nonstop."

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A meeting between Jobe and Cole was the reason why Hinch put Jobe on the travel roster for Sunday's game against the Yankees in Tampa, even though he wasn't going to pitch. Hinch told Jobe about the meeting a week ago, so there was plenty of time to prepare questions.

But Jobe asked one question.

"I can't even remember what it was," Jobe said.

He let Cole do all of the talking.

"He went on and on and on," Jobe said.

The Tigers are planning to let Jobe pitch in a spring training game at some point soon, but as of this past week, he was still throwing live batting practice sessions on the backfields.

All of the other healthy players have appeared in games.

Jobe completed his second live batting practice Friday, facing rehabbing outfielder Kerry Carpenter and backup catcher Carson Kelly. He struck out Carpenter twice, but in the third and final matchup, Carpenter got a hit against him.

"It's been slow, for sure," Jobe said. "I get it, too. I got hurt last year, missed half of the season. ... I understand it all. I'd rather be safe than sorry. I wouldn't want to rush out there last week and try to blow the doors in big league games and something happens. It's definitely been slow, but rightfully so."

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Cole, an 11-year MLB veteran, six-time All-Star and former No. 1 overall draft pick, won the American League Cy Young in the 2023 season. The 33-year-old posted a 2.63 ERA, 48 walks (5.9% walk rate) and 222 strikeouts (27% strikeout rate) across 209 innings, spanning 33 starts.

"He's probably the best pitcher of this generation," Jobe said. "He demands respect with how he plays."

In the 2018-19 seasons, Cole had Hinch as his manager with the Houston Astros.

So, Hinch set up the meeting.

Jobe recapped what he learned from Cole.

"A lot of it was away from the games on how to go about your day-to-day life during the season," Jobe said, "like in practice and being in it mentally, as much as you can, in between outings. It's getting as many game reps as you can, more so mentally than physically, because you can't go out there in mid-week bullpens and rip it like you do in the game. That was the big takeaway for me, as well as how to attack hitters and how big-league guys are different than minor-league hitters."

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Jobe wasn't cleared to pitch until mid-June last season because of a back injury in spring training, but once the right-hander rehabbed his way back to full health, he dominated across five different leagues, beginning in the rookie-level Florida Complex League and ending in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League.

Jobe combined for a 2.82 ERA with 11 walks (3.4% walk rate) and 103 strikeouts (31.7% strikeout rate) across 79⅔ innings in 20 starts in the 2023 season.

The Tigers selected Jobe with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft.

"I want to impress people, but I don't need to go out there and try to do too much," Jobe said. "I'm a lot more mature in that aspect. I understand that it's a long season. My goal is to pitch in October. February or March is great, but I'll do anything to pitch in October."

Meeting Cole was a moment Jobe will never forget.

The meeting between one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues and one of the best pitchers in the major leagues foreshadows what could happen in the near future. By the end of the season, Jobe could join Cole as a pitcher in the big leagues, and within a couple of years, he could join Cole as an ace-caliber pitcher in the big leagues.

For now, it's a slow ramp to prepare Jobe for a full season that will begin in the minor leagues.

"I've learned a lot," Jobe said. "It feels like three months that I've been here, but it's been three weeks. I'll definitely remember that one for a while. Hopefully, we're squaring off against each other sometime soon. That would be a lot cooler, but we'll see."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Jackson Jobe doesn't want to overdo it this spring