Brett Jacobson

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Baltimore Orioles #16 prospect in 2010
  When the Tigers went looking for a veteran bat to try to keep their sinking ship afloat last September, the Orioles were happy to oblige, sending them Aubrey Huff in exchange for Jacobson. His power repertoire always has been intriguing but has never added up to dominant results, which explains why he lasted until the fourth round in 2008 and why Detroit was willing to deal him just a year later. Jacobson's fastball runs from 89-95 mph, and he sits more at 92-95 when he's at his best. He throws straight over the top, giving hitters a different look and creating a good downward plane when he's on, but he left the ball up too often last year and had trouble repeating his delivery. His hard curveball offers a nice contrast to his fastball, and he uses his changeup against lefthanders. His changeup has sink and he throws it with good arm speed. Jacobson always has seemed best suited for a relief role, and kept ending up in the bullpen when he tried to start at Vanderbilt. He didn't work much on his secondary pitches while with Detroit, so Baltimore had him focus on those pitches and was impressed by his work ethic. He has the pure stuff to close games but probably profiles best as a setup man. He'll work in the Bowie bullpen to open 2010.
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  Ranked Detroit Tigers #10 prospect in 2009
  Jacobson has a tremendous arm and great pitcher's body, but he fell to the fourth round of the 2008 draft because of his uneven performance in college. He started games in each of his three seasons at Vanderbilt but finished each year in the bullpen. Signed for $230,000, Jacobson has had his greatest success as a reliever and his mentality is best suited for that role. His best pitch is his fastball, which sat at 88-91 mph when he started but jumps to 92-95 mph when he works out of the bullpen. He did a better job of commanding his heater in his pro debut than he had in college, which led to a successful summer. Jacobson's over-the-top release point creates good downward action on his fastball, and hitters have difficulty elevating it. An exaggerated leg kick and herky-jerky delivery add some deception. He had thrown a slider but had trouble locating it in the strike zone, so Tigers pitching coordinator Jon Matlack helped him install a curveball during instructional league. Jacobson came up with a hard, 12-to-6 breaker that fits his high arm slot better. His changeup is promising but still has a ways to go, and he probably won't use it much as a reliever. He has the power stuff to profile as a setup man. Jacobson will move up to high Class A in 2009 and could move quickly.