Tigers pitcher, MSU product among Baseball America's 'up-arrow' prospects

Ben Jacobs is wasting little time in establishing himself as a top prospect in the Detroit Tigers organization.

A left-hander the Tigers selected in the third round of last summer’s MLB Draft, Jacobs appears to be thriving in his first season in the organization. And, people are taking notice. Baseball America on Wednesday identified Jacobs as one of 25 “up-arrow” prospects climbing the rankings.

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Also making the list: Michigan State product Joseph Dzierwa, a left-handed starter in the Baltimore Orioles system.

Jacobs, 22, was stellar at low Single-A Lakeland in his organizational debut, compiling a 1.08 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in 16⅔ innings over four appearances (two starts), with 24 strikeouts and six walks. The Arizona State product hasn’t been as dominant since a promotion to high Single-A West Michigan (4.15 ERA, 14 walks), though opponents are hitting just .178 against him in 26 innings.

In 42⅔ innings across the two Single-A stops, Jacobs has fanned 64, with opponents hitting .163. Jacobs has climbed to No. 6 in Baseball America’s list of top 30 Tigers prospects, after opening the season at No. 19.

“Heading into his first professional season … Jacobs made some small mechanical tweaks that have unlocked his fastball,” Basebal America’s Ian Cundall writes. “His extension has jumped from 5.84 feet to over 6.3 feet, and his velocity is up a tick, as well. This allows it to play above its velocity and has led to an almost 40% whiff rate on his fastball.

“Jacobs complements his fastball with a trio of secondaries — a splitter, curveball and slider — and all have shown bat-missing ability with whiff rates above 40%. In 42.2 innings, he has 64 strikeouts, and even since moving to a higher level, his strikeout rate has remained relatively stable. The only thing keeping him from rising to the top five in the system is inconsistent strike-throwing, as his walk rate has jumped from 9.5% in Low-A to 13.1% in High-A.”

He’s also gotten the attention of MLB Pipeline, which last month put Jacobs on its early all-breakout team. Jacobs has carved out a place in the Tigers’ prospect hierarchy, which has been heavy in hitters. He is the lone pitcher among the Tigers’ top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America.

Dzierwa, meanwhile, has reached Double A in his first season with the Orioles, who selected him in the second round (No. 58 overall) in the 2025 MLB Draft after he earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors with the Spartans. The 22-year-old left-hander has posted a 2.70 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in five games (four starts) with Double-A Chesapeake, with 33 strikeouts (and just five walks) in 26⅔ innings pitched since a promotion from high Single-A Frederick.

He’s climbed 12 spots to No. 5 in the Orioles’ prospect rankings.

“Dzierwa made noise in the Orioles’ Spring Breakout game when he struck out eight Red Sox hitters in three innings of work,” Cundall writes. “He has carried that performance over to the regular season, putting up a 2.41 ERA between High-A and Double-A with 83 strikeouts and only 15 walks.”