Next up on the list of targets for the Red Sox at pick number four, is the first pitcher we’re reviewing, Jackson Jobe.
Jobe’s greatest talent is his killer slider, which features spin rates well above 3,000 RPM, which is higher than almost all major leaguers, as it sits in the low 80s of MPH. To add to that, he has a fastball that tops out at 96 with good movement and a low 80s changeup that some say is just as good as his slider. To top that off, he has a solid curveball which lies in the mid to high 70’s.
According to MLB.com, the right-hander led his school, Heritage Hall, to the Oklahoma 4-A championship this spring striking out 122 batters through 51.2 innings, posting just a 0.13 ERA as he won the Gatorade state high school player of the year award for Oklahoma.
Jobe throws plenty of strikes with an above-average command of the zone, as he walked just five guys this spring. The 6-foot-2 Mississippi commit is clearly a pitcher but does have a solid glove at shortstop, and is a decent hitter. If he wanted to, he could attend Mississippi as a two-way player.
Jobe is picked at spot number three in Fangraphs’ latest mock draft, by the Detroit Tigers. But the right-hander could easily fall out of the top five, as in Fangraphs’ second most recent mock draft has Jobe falling all the way to pick number nine.