Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Tigers fans of a certain age can be forgiven for looking at the lefty Jacobs and his specs and thinking back to former Detroit starter Nate Robertson. Even the arsenals have some similarities. But Jacobs was very much a West Coast pitcher, from his prep days in Huntington Beach to his first college stop at UCLA. After five innings for the Bruins as a freshman, Jacobs transferred to Arizona State and blossomed into the Sun Devils’ Friday night starter. He entered his Draft season with first-round potential but fell to the third, where the Tigers made him part of their search for young pitching and signed him for $722,500.

Jacobs doesn’t have a dominant pitch that he leans on so much as he succeeds with a good mix and a feel for hitters, from a 92-94 mph fastball that can touch 96 to a traditional low-80s slider and a changeup with good fade. While his strikeout rates were impressive at ASU, he has to show in the pros that he can get outs in the strike zone and put hitters in situations where they’re apt to chase. He repeats his delivery well, which should bode well for progress in strike throwing.

Jacobs has a chance to advance quickly in the system, starting with full-season ball, if he can demonstrate an ability to get outs in the zone. He has the profile of a backend starter if he makes the adjustments.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Hailing from renowned California high school Huntington Beach, Jacobs began his college career close to home at UCLA. After getting just five innings on the mound as a freshman in 2023, he transferred to Arizona State and began his sophomore season pitching out of the Sun Devils bullpen, then eventually evolved into becoming their Friday night starter. He resumed that role in 2025 after a summer in which he made a few solid appearances in the Cape Cod League and for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. The Tigers selected him in the third round in July and signed him for $722,500.

When he’s clicking like he was at the end of 2024, Jacobs looks every bit like a prototypical college lefty with a starting pitcher’s repertoire and solid feel for what he’s doing on the mound. None of his individual offerings jump off the page, but he misses bats with all three of his pitches. It starts with a fastball that typically sits in the 92-94 mph range, touching 95-96 at times. It was not missing as many bats of late as it did in 2024, when it had decent life up in the zone to go along with solid deception. He has a traditional slider he throws in the 78-83 mph range and his low-80s changeup features good fade.

Jacobs has struggled with his command at times during his college career, but he repeats his delivery well and is competitive in and around the zone, so there’s some confidence he’ll get to more consistent strikes as he advances. His ceiling might be a little limited because of the lack of a true out pitch, but he has a real shot at being a back end starter.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

Hailing from renowned California high school Huntington Beach, Jacobs began his college career close to home at UCLA. After getting just five innings on the mound as a freshman in 2023, he transferred to Arizona State and began his sophomore season pitching out of the Sun Devils bullpen, then eventually evolved into becoming their Friday night starter. He resumed that role in 2025 after a summer in which he made a few solid appearances in the Cape Cod League and for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team.

When he’s clicking like he was at the end of 2024, Jacobs looks every bit like a prototypical college lefty with a starting pitcher’s repertoire and solid feel for what he’s doing on the mound. None of his individual offerings jump off the page, but he misses bats with all three of his pitches. It starts with a fastball that typically sits in the 92-94 mph range, touching 95-96 at times. It was not missing as many bats as it did in 2024, when it had decent life up in the zone to go along with solid deception. He has a traditional slider he throws in the 78-83 mph range and his low-80s changeup features good fade.

Jacobs has struggled with his command at times during his college career, but he repeats his delivery well and is competitive in and around the zone, so there’s some confidence he’ll get to more consistent strikes as he advances. His ceiling might be a little limited because of the lack of a true out pitch, but he’s the kind of back-end starter who has the chance to land in the top three rounds.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/04/2025	FCL Tigers activated LHP Ben Jacobs.
	07/24/2025	LHP Ben Jacobs assigned to FCL Tigers.
	07/23/2025	Detroit Tigers signed LHP Ben Jacobs.
	06/03/2025	LHP Ben Jacobs assigned to College Workout.
	03/20/2025	LHP Ben Jacobs assigned to Arizona State Sun Devils.
	06/10/2024	LHP Ben Jacobs assigned to Cotuit Kettleers.
	02/19/2024	LHP Ben Jacobs assigned to Arizona State Sun Devils.
	05/04/2023	Burlington Sock Puppets activated LHP Ben Jacobs.
	06/11/2022	LHP Ben Jacobs and assigned to College Workout.
	02/03/2022	LHP Ben Jacobs and assigned to Home Team.