The CBB continues our countdown to the 2009 College Baseball season with our Top 50 players to watch. We will be providing one player each day (Monday-Saturday) until we reach number 1. We continue our list today with junior shortstop Ryan Jackson from Miami (FL).
The Miami Springs native came right into the Hurricanes program solidifying the shortstop spot in his freshman campaign in 2007. He ended up playing in 49 out of the team’s 54 games. He struggled with the solid pitching in the ACC as he only hit .236 with 25 RBI. He also struggled defensively as he made 13 errors with a fielding percentage of .937. He spent the summer of 2007 with the Hyannis Mets where he started every game but continued with his offensive struggles as he only hit .215 with 15 RBI.
Jackson came out with a great sophomore season when compared to his horrible freshman season. He ended up finishing third on the team with a .360 average while starting 63 out of the team’s 64 games in 2008. He finished the season with four homers and 50 RBI with 19 doubles. Jackson improved his defense last season by making only eight errors on the year while upping his fielding percentage to .974. He was selected to be a member of the USA Collegiate National team after the season was over. He ended up playing in 22 games (21 starts) out of the teams 24 games. He hit only .232 with a homer and 13 RBI on the summer.
I spoke with someone familiar with Jackson’s skill set who stated the following “one of the best fielders I have ever seen.” This is one of the strongest statements as Jackson is considered one of the strongest defensive shortstops in the nation. Jackson will need to develop a more consistent swing as many scouts think that Jackson has a slight hitch if he wants to make it to the Majors.
You can check out the full top 50 by clicking here.
This kid can play some AMAZING defense. No doubt about that.
If he can hit AT ALL, then he will be successful at the next level.
Everyone I talked to about Jackson brings up his defense.