Thursday, June 12, 2008
NY Observer - Medgal: The Yankees’ Next Big Thing
While the hysteria over Joba Chamberlain continues in The Bronx, Austin Jackson, a 21-year-old outfielder with New York’s AA affiliate in Trenton, calmly prepares to be the next big thing. And Jackson knows exactly who to talk to about that process.
“Reggie Jackson comes and visits us every spring,” said Jackson, as he dressed in front of his locker prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Connecticut Defenders. “The past two years, we got to sit down and talk. That’s huge from a friend standpoint. Sometimes he would be struggling, but he was always confident.”
Tellingly, the younger Jackson seems most engaged when he’s talking about hitting. That alone has to make the Yankees feel reasonably good about their decision to draft him with an eighth-round pick in the 2005 draft. A first-round talent, it was generally assumed that Jackson would head to Georgia Tech, where, as a two-sport star, he would play basketball in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The big league team may be relentlessly .500, but there may be hope on the way in Austin Jackson, currently hitting .274/.359/.407 for AA Trenton as a 21 year old. Thanks to Mike K. for the link.
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