Ryan Jackson – Offensive Improvement and One Season
Posted on March 30th, 2011 by Jeff in Ryan Jackson… [Ryan] Jackson ditched the unnecessary hand and body movement in his offensive set-up. He made the switch after a midseason promotion last year from low Class A Quad Cities to high Class A Palm Beach…
- Kary Booher – “Jackson Waiting His Turn At Shortstop”
Ryan Jackson had a dreadful year in 2009 by any measuring device including a .216 average and a slugging of .241. But, with a BABIP of .252, he certainly hit into some bad luck. Despite the BABIP, no one could have expected the Jackson’s jump in numbers for 2010.
When he moved up to Quad Cities, his BABIP regressed quite a bit to .331 and his numbers improved as well. His improvement was not fully BABIP-related as his 20% line drive rate and 13.5% walk rate for a slash line of 272/366/348. These numbers were quite an improvement for the slick fielding Jackson, but the above mentioning swing change had not even happened yet.
After making the changes to his swing, Jackson had 167 at bats in the pitcher friendly Florida State League. However, his average increased 21 points and his ISO slugging increased 26 points. He didn’t walk at his usual clip in Palm Beach, but when you are hitting more than 1/4th of your batted balls for line drives – why bother taking a walk.
Ryan Jackson has had one bad year and one good year and after lots of appearances in the Spring Training DFRs, the expectations for Jackson in Springfield (or if he stays at Palm Beach). His glove has been able to play since he was drafted and the 2010 season will be big for Jackson. If the Vuch Reports and articles about his swing are to be believed – Jackson is poised to make sure 2010 was not a one hit wonder.
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Jackson’s improvement certainly brought him up to around league average, but the improvement was sizable. He’ll never be mistaken for a power hitter, but with his glove, he only needs to continue to hit average.
Thanks for the info on Jackson. He may end up to be the most glaring omission from our top prospect lists. I know I didn’t even think about him for my top twenty but after reviewing last year’s improvement and his start this spring he would make it now.
Jeff,
I think you meant the 2011 season will be big for Jackson.
Has definitely turned himself into an interesting prospect, although I don’t believe he’ll ever hit enough at the big league level to be a regular.
Agree with T Bird, it’s nice to see Jackson show offensive improvement and put himself on the radar, but just dont see him being a major league regular. Without any real power or speed on the base paths, he will have to make that up with a pretty high BA and OBA, which of course is possible, but just doesn’t seem likely.
I think there is still room in the MLB for an all glove, some hit SS.
To me the biggest thing to consider is Jackson is a VERY special defensive SS. He has to hit like an avg or slightly above avg SS to become an everyday big league SS. He has improved significantly on offense and has already exceeded my expectation which put 2011 as a critical year for him and quite frankly Kozma. Jackson is our #2 SS in the system but if Kozma doesn’t step up this year then Jackson has the opportunity to pass him by.
Jackson is my favorite “sleeper” prospect right now. With his glove, if he can hit at a league average level in the big leagues (somewhere around .280/.340/.400), he can be a 3-4 win player.
Unfortunately, he’s in the farm system of a team managed by a man who seems to have odd ideas as to which guy named Ryan has value at shortstop.
TLR wont be there forever and I think TLR would probably like hte low key attitude of Ryan Jackson alot more than the hyperactive Brendan Ryan.
I have known Ryan since he was a Senior in High School. I am a strength and conditioning coach who has worked with over 100 pro athletes. The thing that the stats do not show is the COMPLETE dedication and respect to the game that Ryan has. I guarantee over the next 2-3 years he will be in the MLB. His size, power, and SPEED has increased every year… Remember that these athletes are labeled based on their physical features at 19 and 20 years old… The dedicated players develop throughout their career and he will continue to get bigger, faster, stronger.