The top-end talent in the Detroit Tigers’ farm system is dominated by hitters, but there appears to be a pitcher making some waves a couple of months into the 2026 season.
Ben Jacobs, a lefthander at high Single-A West Michigan, earned a spot on MLB Pipeline’s early All-Breakout Prospect Team on Tuesday. The 10-player team is comprised of prospects who have never appeared in Pipeline’s top 100. Jacobs is one of two pitchers on the team — one righthander, and one lefty.
Jacobs, a third-round selection in last summer’s MLB Draft out of Arizona State, has made three starts for the Whitecaps, covering 10 innings, with a 4.50 ERA and 1.20 WHIP after a promotion from low Single-A Lakeland, where he had a 1.08 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in 16.2 innings.
In those 26.2 innings spanning the two levels, the 21-year-old Jacobs has fanned 41, with 10 walks.
“… Jacobs has seen a … velo bump in pro ball, going from 92-94 (mph) in school to 93-95, and the fastball plays nicely with a flat approach angle as he gets down the mound,” Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra writes. “It sets up his low-80s slider, upper-70s curveball and low-80s changeup nicely. The cambio especially shows good velocity separation and drop compared to the heater, helping Jacobs achieve near-even splits at Lakeland and West Michigan.
“Jacobs will be challenged more at High-A (and eventually Double-A), but his 38.7 K% in seven outings is a strong place to start.”
Should he continue to progress this season, Jacobs could continue to ascend in the Tigers prospect rankings. He already broke into the Tigers’ top 10 prospects in Baseball America’s rankings, updated this week, moving up from No. 19 to No. 6. He is the only pitcher in the that top 10.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Jacobs is No. 16 among Pipleline’s top Tigers prospects, in which the top eight prospects — and 10 of the top 12 — are hitters.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers prospect Ben Jacobs on MLB Pipeline’s all-breakout team
