Last year around this time I wrote a story discussing Blue Jays shortstop prospect Justin Jackson, and how I thought at the time it might be a good idea to considering switching his position -- to pitcher. I cited his lack of success at the plate in his 3+ years of professional ball, his highly regarded throwing arm, and the success story of a former Blue Jays shortstop prospect (Sergio Santos) who had been converted to a reliever after failing at the plate. I felt that, while he was young and still had a chance for success as a positional player, his odds might be better as a reliever, and, if the conversion were to occur, it would be best to do it while he was still ineligible for the Rule 5 draft (any player with 5 or more years of professional ball not on their team's 40 man roster is eligible -- Justin was in his 4th year at the time).
Continuing the Rule 5 draft thought, 2011 is now Justin Jackson's 5th professional season. At the end of the season, the Blue Jays will be forced to decide whether or not to add Jackson to the 40 man or risk exposing him to the other 29 teams in baseball. While odds are low that he would be infact drafted -- the drafting team would need to keep him on their 25 man roster for the entire 2012 season, and Jackson is only in High-A right now -- Jackson appears to be doing his best to guarantee a spot on someone's roster next season, Toronto or otherwise.
While Jackson's glove has never been questioned, his bat has been a major disappointment since being selected as a supplementary 1st round pick (45th overall) in the 2007 draft. From 2007 through 2010, Jackson posted OPS' of .515, .708, .590, and .620. Poor, even for a middle infielder with outstanding defense.
The 2011 season has seen a drastic change in Jackson. First and foremost, he switched positions. After playing shortstop almost exclusively in his first four seasons, Jackson was moved to right field where his arm could still be utilized but playing defense would be less demanding. More visible in the box scores, however, is his dramatic increase in proficiency with that bat. As a disclaimer, it must be pointed out that 2011 is Jackson's 3rd year in Dunedin (though his previous two years totalled only 279 AB in High-A). Playing right field, as well as spot appearances all over the diamond, Jackson has hit .319/.409/.460 for an .869 OPS, far and away better than anything he has done previously. His April success even earned him a spot promotion to Double-A New Hampshire for 3 games where he filled in temporarily as an injury replacement. Jackson even appears to be taking on a leadership role with Dunedin, as evident by his twitter profile (@JaxChillinONE). Jackson cheers on and congratulates his teammates for their games and carries over many of the Blue Jays heart and hustle hashtags with a Dunedin twist -- #babyjays and #babybeastmode.
What the future holds for Jackson obviously no one knows, but Jackson has definitely taken the right approach to the 2011 season and has gotten his career back on track. While it is unlikely he will ever reach the ceiling I hoped for when he was drafted (.300 hitter with 20/20 potential and great defense), Jackson may yet carve out a role for himself on a major league roster down the road. Teams are always looking for players who can field multiple positions -- and field them well -- so if Jackson can carry over this season's early success with the bat and continue hitting as he matures and reaches the upper minors, he could find himself as a highly sought after super-utility player, perhaps something along the line of a Mark DeRosa (with Texas) or Omar Infante (before his "All Star" season).
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