Jebb's growth comes with understanding the 'kind of player he is'
ALTOONA CURVE
Mitch Jebb takes the field at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona, Pa.
At times, it's possible for young players to endure a bit of an identity crisis as they navigate the challenges of minor league baseball. Players are working every day to adapt to better competition at the higher levels and are learning more about who they are every day.
Mitch Jebb doesn't fall into that category of players, at least not in the eyes of first-year Altoona manager Andy Fox.
"I think he understands what kind of player he is and what he has to be," Fox told me Wednesday in Altoona, Pa. "He's gonna have to take his walks, he's gonna have to steal bases, he's gonna have to play good defense and he's gonna have to put the ball in play. I think that's the one thing I really noticed about him. He understands what type of player he is and the type of player he's going to have to be to play in the big leagues."
A second-round pick of the Pirates in the 2023 MLB Draft, Jebb has continued to grow as a player as he's progressed through the minor-league system. He's a contact-first type of hitter with plus speed that has allowed him to evolve into the No. 13-ranked prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline.
Jebb, who played at the Class A level with Bradenton in 2023 and Greensboro last year, has served as a spark plug of sorts near the top of Fox's every day lineup in Altoona this season. He's tied for the team lead with 31 hits and 19 walks, and leads the group in batting average (.277), on-base percentage (.379) and stolen bases (12). He added to those numbers this afternoon by picking up three more hits, scoring four runs and stealing another base in Altoona’s 9-4 win over Harrisburg.
"One of the things is you can't teach speed, and he can run," Fox said. "So far, he's shown the ability to steal bases, and I think that's a big tool to have in your toolbox, especially in the big leagues now with teams being more athletic and running more. It's nice to see, and then I think the better thing is just him learning how to play every day. Going through that grind of the ups and downs and how your body feels and still being able to take care of the things that you're really good at."
Jebb has found value in being able to play every day over these last two years. After he was drafted in 2023, Jebb appeared in 34 games with Class A Bradenton, hitting .297/.382/.398 with a .780 OPS, a home run, 13 RBIs and 26 runs scored. He also walked 17 times, struck out 11 times and stole 11 bases. That's not a huge sample size there, but enough to show some potential as a hitter capable of impacting games at the top of a lineup.
Last year with Class A Greensboro, Jebb experienced more of the ups and downs that come with playing more often at the professional level. He hit .230 in the opening month of the season before struggling with a .174 average in May. He picked things up in June by hitting .253 and carried it over into the July and August, hitting .301 with an .884 OPS and .330 with an .801 OPS, respectively. With six September games included, Jebb ended up hitting .289 with a .372 on-base percentage, 15 extra-base hits, 19 RBIs, 35 runs scored, 26 walks and 27 stolen bases from July 1 until the end of the season.
Jebb ended the year with a .253/.341/.355 slash line to go with his .696 OPS, six home runs, 42 RBIs, 76 runs scored and 43 stolen bases. He walked at an 11% rate and struck out at a 19% rate.
"Just trying to be as consistent as possible, on and off the field," Jebb told me Wednesday. "Just taking what I learned last year at High-A and trying to put it to use here in Double-A. It's working well. Always going to run into challenges as you keep going, so I'm just trying to keep the right mindset and keep going."
Jebb was drafted as a shortstop out of Michigan State and has played a handful of minor-league innings at both middle infield positions since making his pro debut in July 2023. He has over 400 innings of experience over at shortstop and nearly 700 innings spent over at second base, a position he's made just nine starts at this season. He's transitioned more into a role out in center field, making 18 starts out there -- and playing 154 innings -- with the Curve. His move out to center, a position where his speed serves as a valuable weapon, actually started last year in Greensboro where he made 10 starts. He's committed just one error out there in 242 innings at the pro level.
It's possible that the position change could help expedite Jebb's progress through the minors, as long as he continues to produce -- both offensively and defensively -- as he has. But he's not thinking about when that next promotion will come. Jebb is fully aware of what makes him a productive piece of Altoona's every day lineup. He knows he has to -- as Fox alluded to -- have quality at-bats, make his presence felt on the basepaths, make plays on defense and put pressure on opposing defenders with his bat. If he accomplishes those things at a consistent level, everything else will take care of itself.
"I just try to play my game," Jebb said. "Some can say it's spark-pluggish, but my job is to get on base, and I'm going to try to do that every single time."
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
10:07 pm - 05.15.2025DowntownJebb's growth comes with understanding the 'kind of player he is'
ALTOONA CURVE
Mitch Jebb takes the field at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona, Pa.
At times, it's possible for young players to endure a bit of an identity crisis as they navigate the challenges of minor league baseball. Players are working every day to adapt to better competition at the higher levels and are learning more about who they are every day.
Mitch Jebb doesn't fall into that category of players, at least not in the eyes of first-year Altoona manager Andy Fox.
"I think he understands what kind of player he is and what he has to be," Fox told me Wednesday in Altoona, Pa. "He's gonna have to take his walks, he's gonna have to steal bases, he's gonna have to play good defense and he's gonna have to put the ball in play. I think that's the one thing I really noticed about him. He understands what type of player he is and the type of player he's going to have to be to play in the big leagues."
A second-round pick of the Pirates in the 2023 MLB Draft, Jebb has continued to grow as a player as he's progressed through the minor-league system. He's a contact-first type of hitter with plus speed that has allowed him to evolve into the No. 13-ranked prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline.
Jebb, who played at the Class A level with Bradenton in 2023 and Greensboro last year, has served as a spark plug of sorts near the top of Fox's every day lineup in Altoona this season. He's tied for the team lead with 31 hits and 19 walks, and leads the group in batting average (.277), on-base percentage (.379) and stolen bases (12). He added to those numbers this afternoon by picking up three more hits, scoring four runs and stealing another base in Altoona’s 9-4 win over Harrisburg.
"One of the things is you can't teach speed, and he can run," Fox said. "So far, he's shown the ability to steal bases, and I think that's a big tool to have in your toolbox, especially in the big leagues now with teams being more athletic and running more. It's nice to see, and then I think the better thing is just him learning how to play every day. Going through that grind of the ups and downs and how your body feels and still being able to take care of the things that you're really good at."
Jebb has found value in being able to play every day over these last two years. After he was drafted in 2023, Jebb appeared in 34 games with Class A Bradenton, hitting .297/.382/.398 with a .780 OPS, a home run, 13 RBIs and 26 runs scored. He also walked 17 times, struck out 11 times and stole 11 bases. That's not a huge sample size there, but enough to show some potential as a hitter capable of impacting games at the top of a lineup.
Last year with Class A Greensboro, Jebb experienced more of the ups and downs that come with playing more often at the professional level. He hit .230 in the opening month of the season before struggling with a .174 average in May. He picked things up in June by hitting .253 and carried it over into the July and August, hitting .301 with an .884 OPS and .330 with an .801 OPS, respectively. With six September games included, Jebb ended up hitting .289 with a .372 on-base percentage, 15 extra-base hits, 19 RBIs, 35 runs scored, 26 walks and 27 stolen bases from July 1 until the end of the season.
Jebb ended the year with a .253/.341/.355 slash line to go with his .696 OPS, six home runs, 42 RBIs, 76 runs scored and 43 stolen bases. He walked at an 11% rate and struck out at a 19% rate.
"Just trying to be as consistent as possible, on and off the field," Jebb told me Wednesday. "Just taking what I learned last year at High-A and trying to put it to use here in Double-A. It's working well. Always going to run into challenges as you keep going, so I'm just trying to keep the right mindset and keep going."
Jebb was drafted as a shortstop out of Michigan State and has played a handful of minor-league innings at both middle infield positions since making his pro debut in July 2023. He has over 400 innings of experience over at shortstop and nearly 700 innings spent over at second base, a position he's made just nine starts at this season. He's transitioned more into a role out in center field, making 18 starts out there -- and playing 154 innings -- with the Curve. His move out to center, a position where his speed serves as a valuable weapon, actually started last year in Greensboro where he made 10 starts. He's committed just one error out there in 242 innings at the pro level.
It's possible that the position change could help expedite Jebb's progress through the minors, as long as he continues to produce -- both offensively and defensively -- as he has. But he's not thinking about when that next promotion will come. Jebb is fully aware of what makes him a productive piece of Altoona's every day lineup. He knows he has to -- as Fox alluded to -- have quality at-bats, make his presence felt on the basepaths, make plays on defense and put pressure on opposing defenders with his bat. If he accomplishes those things at a consistent level, everything else will take care of itself.
"I just try to play my game," Jebb said. "Some can say it's spark-pluggish, but my job is to get on base, and I'm going to try to do that every single time."
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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