Detroit closes out Day 1 of 2025 MLB draft with Arizona State left-hander Ben Jacobs
Detroit ended the first day of the 2025 MLB draft by selecting Arizona State left-hander Ben Jacobs with the 98th overall pick in the third round.
Jacobs started 26 games for the Sun Devils over the past two seasons after transferring from UCLA, where he threw five innings as a true freshman. Over 155.0 career innings, he has a 4.99 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 5.40 FIP and opposing teams are batting .241 against him.
The flashy numbers are in the strikeout department. Jacobs has a career strikeout rate of 33% while walking just 13% of the batters he faces. There isn’t one pitch that stands out from the rest, but a mix of a 92-94 mph fastball, low-80s changeup and 78-83 mph slider does the job from the left side.
He has periods of poor command where he’ll walk multiple batters each game, but the strikeout numbers stay steady. He won’t lead a rotation without developing one of those two secondaries into a true out pitch, but MLB.com projects Jacobs as a backend starter in a big league rotation.
Jacobs was the first non-reach pick for the Tigers through three rounds, according to the MLB draft prospect rankings. Each team has its own board and plays a financial game throughout the draft, but none of these players warrant an overslot deal. It begs the question: What are the Tigers doing in this draft?
It’s too early to judge, but Day 1 lacked a wow pick, even though Scott Harris added plenty of talent to the farm.