From
Lynn Henning (Hat-tip to
Was Watching):
Butch Wynegar, the Yankees' Triple-A hitting coach, said that he expects Jackson to be a legitimate big league hitter. But he did not disagree with Carter and other critics of Jackson's swing.
"He still is raw, still has a lot to learn, but he's an intelligent kid and a good athlete -- and he wants to learn," Wynegar said. "I basically told the Yankees at the end of the year, if they were thinking about him being their center fielder this coming year (2010), I didn't know if he was ready yet.
"But I know he has a bright future. There are just some things he needs to iron out yet and incorporate to be successful."
Steve Carter, a scout for Project Prospect and one of Jackson's critics had this to say:
"Jackson gets his front foot down very early, and tries to kick-start his swing by pushing his hips -- two very inefficient moves when combined. The main reason behind getting the front foot down early and 'reacting' -- as Jackson does -- is to limit forward movement and let the ball travel deep into the strike zone.
"Unfortunately, for Jackson, this approach results in a two-part swing with poor intent to swing hard, poor upper-body resistance, and him getting caught in-between on off-speed pitches.
"He neutralizes the benefits of getting his front foot down early, by shifting too much weight to the foot. This robs him of precious energy and time. Not only does he not have enough force to exert as he should, his weight is displaced, which doesn't allow him enough of a rear hip-load to stay back."
The Yankees knew Jackson wouldn't be ready this year and that's probably one of, if not the reason they traded him. What I'm interested to see is if the Tigers rush him to the big leagues and hinder his growth as a hitter. That said the concerns about his lack of power may not be completely justified. As Jim Leyland said in the aricle, "power is usually the last thing to come."
