The Jackson Report: 5/27

(Picture via Chad Jennings)

After Melky Cabrera was taken out in the first inning of last night's game, Matt and I pondered the implications of a DL stay for Melky. Obviously, one of the first courses of action that we discussed was whether or not the Yankees should call up Austin Jackson.

(Click to enlarge) 

Jackson has had a great deal of success against AAA pitching this year. His BA, OPB, and SLG are all higher than his minor league career numbers (which all of, save for one game, were accumulated at AA or lower). He's hit safely in 34 of 41 games, had 15 multi-hit efforts and is currently riding an 8 game hitting streak.  Since we last checked in, Jackson has raised each of his slash stats and tacked on 5 more doubles and 5 more RBIs. His numbers are better with men on base than with the bases empty, and better yet with runners in scoring position.

There are some glaring holes in his game, however. During that stretch, he struck out 11 times (more than once per game on the year) and still has yet to register a home run at AAA. Both of those weaknesses project to be exacerbated by a jump to the Bigs. 

Being that a couple weeks without Melky would leave Brett Gardner as the only competent defensive CF on the roster it seems as though Jackson would at least have to be considered for a promotion. Matt and I agreed on this assessment but differed on the course of action. 

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Jay says: I'm favor of the promotion, provided that it would only last until Melky was able to come back. Just in terms of a roster move, the alternative would be keeping only one capable CF on the 25 man roster, thus hamstringing Joe Girardi pretty severely. Damon or Swisher could play center in a pinch, but neither have manned the position at all this year and represent significant defensive downgrades. Jackson's offensive numbers project to be better than Gardner's at the MLB level and it would be had to imagine someone this side of Little League hitting worse that Swish is right now. 

In terms of Jackson's development, I feel like in most aspects of life, taking on a challenge is usually a positive thing. I wouldn't want him to languish on the bench, but one would assume that making his debut on the big stage and getting some at bats against major league pitching would probably make AAA seem a little easier by comparison when he went back down. 

Matt Says: I'm opposed to a promotion. There's no question Austin Jackson has been playing well at AAA. He's 4th in the IL in AVG and 2nd in OBP. However, he has not yet accomplished what he needs to in AAA in order to move on. While his slugging percentage is good, he's yet to homer. He's shown continued improvement with his BB rate (up to 11%), but his K rate has also jumped up to 28.4% after being under 22% each of the last two years.

I agree with Jay in that you need to challenge players, but Jackson is already being challenged. He's been fast-tracked through the system. This is only his fourth year of full-season pro ball and he is one of the youngest players in the IL. Give him the full year in AAA and don't make another ill-advised knee-jerk reaction.

Further, 40 man roster spots are in short supply right now (more on that later). I'd hate to DFA another player to add AJax for a quick fix. If a CFer is needed in Melky's absence, add Todd Linden. AJax needs to play everyday; Linden could be a usable bench piece. If he isn't, there's no harm in cutting him loose and adding someone else. Once AJax is added though he isn't going anywhere. And once he's called up that arbitration clock starts ticking.

In Melky Cabrera, the Yankees already have a CFer whose development may have been stunted by rushing him to the Big Leagues. I hope they don't repeat that mistake with AJax. 

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