A native Oregonian, Jacob grew up hunting and fishing in his hometown of Medford, Ore., with his father, Joe...Medford is in south Oregon, just a 30-minute drive from the California border...Was a two-time First-Team All-State and First-Team All-League selection at South Medford High School (Medford, Ore.), graduating in 2019...batted .513 with eight home runs, 28 RBI and 33 stolen bases his senior year...went undrafted out of high school...Began his collegiate career at Linn-Benton Community College (Albany, Ore.) in 2019...batted .365 with 14 doubles, seven triples, three home runs, 39 RBI and 16 stolen bases...was selected First-Team All-Northwest Conference, also winning a Gold Glove Award for his region...Transferred to Oregon State following a one-season stint at Linn-Benton Community College...was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year as a junior in 2022, batting .360 with 17 home runs, 83 RBI and 21 stolen bases...set the Oregon State single-season record with 175 total bases and tied the program single-season record with 83 RBI... was a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist and was selected as a First-Team All-American by Perfect Game, Collegiate Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association and the American Baseball Coaches Association... was named All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention in 2021 after batting .404 with six home runs, 25 RBI and eight stolen bases in 32 games...was twice-named Collegiate Baseball Player of the Week in his Oregon State career...Grew up hunting and fishing in his hometown of Medford, Ore., with his father, Joe...was pursuing a major in fisheries and wildlife sciences while at OSU...hopes to work with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife once his playing days are over to help promote salmon conservation as well as combat human encroachment on habitats in the region...Drafted by Houston in the second round of the June 2022 draft...signed by Astros scout Tim Costic...Has two career invites to Major League Spring Training (2024-25)...is currently signed to a one-year contract for the 2025 campaign.
2024
Entered 2024 as the Astros top prospect according to MLB.com and Baseball America along with being the No. 88 overall prospect by Baseball America...received his first MLB camp invite, appearing in 11 games for the Astros...began the season at Double-A, where he hit .248 (56-for-226) with 10 homers, 34 RBI and 19 steals... promoted to Triple A on July 25...hit a grand slam on Aug. 2 for his first Triple-A home run...homered twice on Aug. 18 at Tacoma, his first multi-homer game at Triple-A and the second of his career...had an 11-game hitting streak from Aug. 25-Sept. 7.
2023
Was an MiLB.com Organizational ALL-STAR in his first full season at the Minor League level in 2023, batting a combined .245 (97x396) with 83 runs scored, 23 home runs, 55 RBI and 46 stolen bases in 99 games...began the year with High A Asheville (86 games) and received a late-season promotion to Double A Corpus Christi (13 games)...was the only player in the Astros system and one of five players in Minor League Baseball with at least 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases...ranked second in the Astros system with 46 stolen bases...among South Atlantic League players, ranked second in stolen bases (41), tied for third in runs (73), 10th in slugging percentage (.453) and seventh in home runs (18)...made appearances at all three outfield spots: center field (48 games), right field (17 games) and left field (nine games)...was named the Astros Minor League Player of the Month for July after batting .318 (27x85) with nine doubles, five home runs, 13 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 22 games with Asheville.
2022
Made his professional debut in 2022, appearing in 19 games with Low A Fayetteville and four games with the Florida Complex League Astros...went on an offensive tear with Low A Fayetteville after his brief stint with the Florida Complex League Astros, batting .324 (23x71) with four home runs and 13 RBI.
