Facing Double-A hitters for the first time, Jackson Jobe put together arguably the best start of his pro career so far.
Jobe, MLB’s No. 54 prospect, threw 76 pitches — 58 for strikes — and did not allow an extra-base hit. He’d previously gone six innings three times but had never thrown more than five scoreless frames.
The 21-year-old righty went 2-3 with a 3.60 ERA over eight starts for High-A West Michigan, striking out 54 across 40 innings, before his promotion to Erie on Sunday. After missing the first couple months of the season due to lumbar spine inflammation sustained during Spring Training, he made one rehab start in the Florida Complex League before posting a 2.25 ERA over six games with Single-A Lakeland.
The 2021 first-rounder collected a season-high nine strikeouts in his return to High-A ball on July 29. Jobe maintained a 70 percent strike rate and 12.15 strikeouts per nine innings with the Whitecaps.
Jobe’s slider was named the Midwest League’s best breaking pitch by the league managers this season, and it appears that pitch plays at the next level — three of his strikeouts on Sunday came on the slider.
His start was on the final day of the Double-A regular season, but the SeaWolves are headed to the Eastern League Divisional Series, with Game 1 against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) scheduled for Tuesday.