Return to MLB Prospect index Justin Jackson - SS Justin Jackson Scouting Report - Jackson was the 45th overall selection in the 2007 MLB Draft by the Blue Jays, as a compensatory pick due to the Rangers' signing of Frank Catalanotto. He was signed by Marc Tramuta and he elected to forgo his commitment to Arizona State. - He was born December 11th, 1988 in North Carolina and was a high school teammate of Cameron Maybin at TC Roberson. He is also the son of Chuck Jackson, who had a couple cups of coffee with the Astros in the late 1980's. - Jackson is 6'2", 175 lbs and a preternatural defensive shortstop with an absolute cannon for an arm. He will routinely make incredible plays on the Rogers Centre turf once he reaches the bigs. - Jackson hit .238/.340/.368 (.708 OPS) with seven homers, 26 doubles and six triples in 454 at bats in Single-A during the 2008 season. He struck out a staggering 154 times, while drawing 61 walks. His months of May and June were dreadful and though he didn't lower his strikeout rate in July and August, he at least was making much better contact. - His pitch recognition needs significant improvement, but that should come as he sees more and more quality pitchers. Jackson has good bat speed and discipline at the plate, so his ability to be more choosy will allow his numbers to improve exponentially. - He has a lanky frame and is wiry strong and he could conceivably hit 20 homers and 40 doubles in a season since he has above average speed, though he won't be a 30+ base stealer. - Jackson has some young Derek Jeter and Troy Tulowitzki in him. In Jeter's 19-year-old minor league season, however, he hit .295/.376/.394 with 95 strikeouts and 58 walks in Single-A. - Opinions vary and he has a fairly high bust potential due to whether or not he will figure it out offensively, but he also has the capability of being incredibly special. Justin Jackson Updates RealGM will be tracking Justin Jackson throughout his minor league development and present updates on his progress here and within our Wiretap. Justin Jackson Links - Latest Justin Jackson news via Google - Jackson's FirstInning.com page - Jackson's Minor League Baseball Reference page - Jackson's FanGraphs.com page - Jackson's BaseballCube page - If you have updates on Justin Jackson that warrant inclusion on this page, please email me at [email protected]