The past two draft cycles have followed a similar trend for the Detroit Tigers. After picking up a high upside prep player, or two, the Tigers then shift their focus to the mound for a couple of rounds. In 2025, the Tigers took shortstop Jordan Yost and catcher Michael Oliveto with their first two picks, before spending their next six picks on pitchers.
In turn, pitching predictability in the Tigers’ system is not very high at the moment, with FanGraphs ranking only one pitcher in the organization’s top-15. Left-hander Ben Jacobs was the second pitcher off the board for Detroit in 2025, and while he currently sits as the team’s 17th-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline, he has the potential to fly up those rankings by the end of the season. Through two starts with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the former Arizona State product is pitching to a 1.77 FIP, and his advanced metrics suggest scouts could be rethinking their outlook on his future impact.
Early Success In His Pro Career
Jacobs’ tenure as a pro pitcher is still in its infancy, with only 7.2 innings under his belt. Drawing big conclusions from a sample size that small would not make much sense, but the numbers he’s posted during that stretch are worth noting. The lefty uses a four-pitch mix, relying mostly on his fastball, slider, and changeup. According to ProspectSavant, all four of Jacob’s pitches have a psStuff+ of 101 or higher, resulting in a 49.2% whiff rate and a 46.7% strikeout rate.
Slick little putout by Lakeland starter Ben Jacobs, who also has 11 whiffs and 4 strikeouts through 2 scoreless innings. @AaronArnstein on the call. pic.twitter.com/mrYDRvuapT
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 9, 2026
Of the 30 plate appearances to come against Jacobs, only four have resulted in hits, none of which have gone for extra bases. While the young left-hander does not possess the velocity to overpower hitters, sitting 91-94 MPH on his fastball, the vertical break he gets on his fastball has helped him sit in the 74th percentile or better among eligible A-ball pitchers in xSLG, xwOBA, and xBA, per ProspectSavant.
If any pitch is going to help Jacobs move through the Tigers’ system, though, it will be his changeup. Early this season, FanGraphs gave it a 50/60 present/future grade, and his current psStuff+ backs that up. Based on his first two outings, Jacobs prefers to throw the changeup to righties, and with a 13.6% usage rate, the pitch has a .084 xBA and .085 xSLG.
Controlling the top of the zone with his fastball and working the changeup off that, the former third-round pick is averaging nearly two strikeouts per inning. Being able to stay on that pace should quickly move Jacobs from Low-A to High-A in West Michigan.
The Possible Limitations
There are two sides to every coin, and on the other side of Jacobs’ breakout is the possibility that he levels out and remains a mid-tier prospect. Command has always been a concern with the former Sun Devil standout, and through 7.2 innings, he’s already issued four walks. Jacob’s inability to consistently find the zone, in large part, led to him falling to the third round of the MLB Draft despite racking up 120 strikeouts in 83.2 innings in his final season at Arizona State.
That impressive 12.9 K/9 did not get the shine it should have, given his 45 walks and 4.8 BB/9. Ultimately, that is one of the biggest reasons why scouts believe Jacobs has middle-of-the-rotation stuff, but back-of-the-rotation command. Being able to land his slider and changeup for strikes consistently will change that narrative.
Jacob’s pitch arsenal alone will help him have success in Low-A. However, as he moves through the system and hitters begin to have better approaches at the plate, his ability to limit free passes will be the true indicator of whether he can rise in the prospect ranks.
(Top Image Credit: Megan Mendoza/The Republic /
USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
