Breaking News: Aubrey Huff Traded to Detroit Tigers

Hmmm...guess that article on Brandon Cooney will have to wait.

Roch Kubatko, from MASN Sports, just reported that Aubrey Huff has officially been dealt to the Detroit Tigers.

The writing has been on the wall for much of this season. Brandon Snyder tore up the Eastern League before making the jump to AAA. Many speculate that the job is his to lose next season.

However, the O's complicated matters by securing the rights to first baseman Rhyne Hughes, the player to be named later in the Greg Zaun deal. Toss in Michael Aubrey, who's hitting .290 at AAA Norfolk, and all of a sudden the battle for 2010's starting first baseman just got a lot more interesting.

By the way, the guy the Orioles got in return for Huff is Single A pitcher Brett Jacobson. Jacobson was Detroit's fourth round pick in the 2008 draft, out of Vanderbilt, where he had a rocky career. He pitched mostly as a starter as a Commodore, but the Tigers saw him as a reliever, and he has pitched all 56 games of his pro career out of the bullpen.

In those 56 contests, he has pitched to a 2.96 ERA. His strikeout to walk ratio is a very healthy 75:22. He has seven saves in his career, but the Tigers projected him as an eventual set-up man at the Major League level.

Jacobson was rated as the 10th best prospect in the Tigers system by Baseball America. They make note of his tremendous arm (92-95 mph) and great pitcher's body (6'6", 205 lbs). His best pitch is his fastball which he commands impressively, with a curveball being his best breaking pitch. He experimented with a slider, but had trouble with locating it, and therefore scratched it in favor of the curve.

Jacobson was expected to move fast through the Tigers system, and therefore should be expected to fly through the Orioles' even quicker. 

I would expect Jacobson to report to Frederick of the Carolina League, or possibly even AA Bowie.