Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Board: RHP Jackson Jobe
When you talk about the 2021 MLB Draft pitching prospects, some of the most common names that pop up are Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, and Will Bednar. These three pitchers got to show off their skills on National TV at the College World Series, and everyone got to see and make their own judgments about them. However, there are several other pitching prospects not in the college world series who teams around the league are considering as first-round picks. For the Pirates, they get a chance to evaluate all of these talents, and are known to be looking at the high school ranks already with Marcello Mayer and Jordan Lawler. However, there is also a high school arm that should get consideration thanks to his velocity and spin rate at a young age.
Jackson Jobe is a young right-handed pitcher from Oklahoma, the same state that produced #4 overall pick, Dylan Bundy, in 2011. Bundy was in the Major Leagues 15 months later with the Baltimore Orioles and is still pitching with the Los Angeles Angels. However, scouts are saying that Jobe is even better than Bundy was, and at 18-years-old, he is one of the most mature high-school pitchers in this year's draft. One thing that Jobe already possesses is great velocity, with a fastball that can reach up into the mid-90s and a knockout slider that has served as his out pitch. Jobe is only going to get better with age and development and a first-round pick may persuade him away from his commitment at Mississippi State. Today, we look at Jobe's skill set and see what impact he could have if the Pirates decide to pick him number one overall.
Elite Arm In High School
As we said before, Jobe has been considered by many scouts to be one of the most mature arms in high school baseball. He is a product of Heritage Hall Hill High School and put up unreal numbers in his 51.2 innings of work. He went a perfect 9-0 during that stretch with a 0.14 ERA, allowing just one earned run all season while striking out 122 batters. No that is not a typo, Jobe has simply overpowered his high school competition and has never looked back. He has pinpoint control in the strike zone with only five walks all season and was named Gatorade High School Player of the Year after leading his team to the Oklahoma 4-A Championship. He has all the tools to be a professional pitcher now, he just has to learn to use his stuff against some of the most elite hitting in the game.
One of the most impressive things about Jobe is his ability to hit in the upper 90s as an 18-year-old. While his fastball normally sits anywhere between 92-94 mph, he has gotten it to top out right around 96 mph. Because of his velocity, he would routinely blow balls by opposing hitters and they were unable to catch up. This is going to be one of the questions when he transitions into pro baseball, whether his stuff was that good or if he was so good because of the talent level he was facing. However, the fastball isn't the only pitch he features as he also has a sinking change-up and a wipeout slider that experts have called his best pitch.
With spin rate and RPM being the new pitching metrics, Jobe has tackled these stats first hand. MLB average for RPM is right around 2,600 to 2,800. However, Jobe's slider has already been clocked at 3,000 RPM in high school. It also offers nice deception off his fastball, coming in in the low 80s, and he has the ability to locate the pitch wherever he wants in the strike zone. On MLB Pipeline's 20-80 scale, Jobe's slider registers as one of the best in the entire draft class at 70. Coming after his slider is a change-up that he has tweaked to have a little more downward action. According to scouts, it has the chance to be as good as his slider, and he isn't afraid to throw it against righties or lefties. There are some questions that remain in terms of facing elite-level hitters, but from a pure stuff standpoint, he has it down pat.
Fitting In With The Pirates
Whenever you take a high school arm in the MLB Draft, there is always some risk involved. Being that an 18-year-old still has some growing to do, issues can arise in development that you may not have seen in his scouting report. The other problem is that he has been facing high school hitters, some of which are up to par with professional baseball. When you throw 96 mph, you are going to routinely blow pitches by high school hitters. However, having that power pitch isn't going to get you by in pro ball. These hitters are more advanced and can catch up to that velocity. Once he starts facing pro hitters, we will begin to see what he is really made of on the mound.
However, on the surface, the mechanics look good for Hobe as he has a repeatable delivery that allows him to be able to consistently locate his pitches. When you are able to repeat your delivery time and time again you don't have to think about the movement and can just focus on locating the ball. He had just five walks during his senior season showing that he can consistently hit the strike zone. As long as he can continue his delivery and use his tools, he has a lot of upside working his way. At just 18-years-old he still has a lot of growing to do and should gain even more velocity as he grows into his 6'2 frame.
Looking at Jobe's numbers he would be a nice option for the Pirates if they want to go the high school route. He has three power pitches and a fourth pitch that is in development, giving him a strong arsenal to continue to be a starting pitcher. However, as with every high school pick, there is some risk involved with the pick simply because of the level of talent he has had to face. If Jobe had been doing this at the college level, he would be a slam dunk to be the number one overall pick. However, because of the level of competition, he has faces, the #7 draft prospect gas questions behind him. The Pirates have had success with high school picks in the past, with Ke'Bryan Hayes and Josh Bell. However, Cherington and his group will have to do a bog risk analysis as to whether Kobe's pure stuff is worth the risk that comes with a high school pitcher.
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