I really despise opening the season on the West coast…
On deck: Seattle Mariners
Series: Three games at T-Mobile Park, Seattle
First pitch: Monday-Tuesday — 9:40 p.m.; Wednesday — 4:10 p.m.
TV/radio: All three games are FanDuel Sports/97.1 FM
Probables: Monday — RHP Jackson Jobe (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Emerson Hancock (0-0, 0.00); Tuesday –— RHP Casey Mize (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Logan Gilbert (0-0, 1.29); Wednesday — LHP Tarik Skubal (0-1, 7.20) vs. RHP Luis Castillo (0-1, 3.60).
Scouting report
Jobe, Tigers: This will be Jobe’s first big-league start, believe it or not. He made four appearances last fall, two in the regular season and two in the postseason, all in relief. The No. 2 pitching prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, was the third overall pick in the draft in 2021 and he features an upper-90s fastball and sinker, with a cutter-slider, changeup and a new firm, two-plane curveball. Still, he had a bumpy spring, allowing five homers in 16.1 innings.
Hancock, Mariners: He’s toggled between Triple-A and Seattle the last two years, making 12 well-spaced starts for the Mariners last season. He has been working to develop and add a sweeper to his five-pitch mix and he needs it. He hasn’t generated much swing-and-miss or soft contact (the hard-hit rate on his four-seam and two-seam fastballs last year was over 50%).
AJ Hinch was joking before the game Saturday about the seemingly random off-day the Tigers were bestowed by the scheduling gods Sunday.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a Sunday off in the regular season,” the Tigers’ skipper said. “Now we find ourselves in a city where a game is being played (Mariners hosting the Athletics). I don’t think any of our guys are going (laughter).”
If there was one player who could largely do without the Sunday off, it’s probably rookie Jackson Jobe, who will be making his first big-league start Monday at T-Mobile Park.
“The Sunday off before his start day will probably be the hardest for him,” Hinch said. “Just because of the eagerness to get on the mound. All these guys have a good anxiousness to get on the mound and get their season underway.”
It feels like it’s been a long time coming, this first start. But the reality is, Jobe was drafted (third overall) in 2021 and has just 58 minor-league starts under his belt.
“I think it’s been normal for him,” Hinch said. “He hasn’t asked a ton of questions. He hasn’t even asked me who is catching him yet. He’s just staying within his routine.”
Jobe debuted late last season, making four appearances, two in September and two in the postseason, all in relief.
“I think being kind of thrown into the fire last year will definitely make starts a lot easier,” Jobe told a group of reporters on a quiet morning in Lakeland before the Tigers broke camp. “Just knowing that I’ve been in some of the biggest situations you can be in.
I’m with you. If we don’t give up the farm.
Sweeney, Jung, Lorenzo ? … would be fine.
But I put a radioactive plexiglass around Meadows. No way can he be touched.
I’m probably in the minority here as I “somewhat” agree with you on Meadows.
From a defensive standpoint absolutely want to keep him, however at the plate is still a “little bit” of a question mark for me.
He’s young and one I was hoping to see growth from at the plate, ie more consistency day in day out. When you consider he has missed all of spring training I’m not sure how good he will be when he comes back in June.
Agreed, and that doesn’t change if Tork ends up being a 30HR guy again, we need another one.
I think one reason the Tigers signed Torres was the fact he would bring more RH power, however, hitting homeruns in NY is not the same as hitting them in Detroit.
The Tigers are the better team. The Mariners are extremely cheap, and after breaking a long playoff drought, decided to go even cheaper, when they were primed to be one of the best teams in baseball by adding a few FAs. I despise John Stanton.
Just split a series with the A’s where the offense was in life support. Julio doesn’t get hot until the weather does. The Tigers should take this series. They’re an exciting team
So much better… So many teams have no shot to sign their top players. They just turn down extensions and wait to hit free agency. 7 or 8 teams spend all the money. The rest are just developing players for those teams to sign.
Imagine being a Rays fan or Oakland… Those type of teams… Don’t ever buy a players jersey. He will be gone the next day.
It’s part of the reason I fell in love with minor league baseball and, at times, have followed more than the parent club.
Those guys are chasing dreams, a dream that is really difficult to achieve, more so when you consider every year the club adds more prospects that you have to compete with. Doesn’t help when MLB takes over MiLB and eliminates numerous teams across the country, making it even harder.
Guys play for the love of the game and business side hasn’t taken over … yet.
My thing is even if Chris gives skubal a fat contract, why would he stay, if you are going to be cheap and not fixing the biggest issue on the team. Hes a top pitcher in leauge, hes on call rookie qb contract. He should’ve paid for some hitters
Series: Three games at T-Mobile Park, Seattle