Alex Jackson was a Mariners cast-off. Now he’s one of many exciting Braves prospects and perhaps the best catching prospect in the organization.
A first-round pick in 2014, Jackson was initially a catcher before Seattle converted him to the outfield. Upon joining the Braves, Jackson was transitioned back to catcher.
Jackson was a Single-A All-Star and just was named the Braves High Single-A Florida Player of the Year. His bat is looking closer to the form he had in high school and defensively he’s more comfortable behind the plate.
Jackson visited SunTrust Park last weekend to receive his award. Before Friday’s game against the Mets, the 21-year old sat down with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to review his season.
Q. How do you feel about your season, development-wise?
A.You know what, it was a season of change. There's a lot of change that went on, moving back to catching and learning to adjust to different pitchers and all that. But all around, I was very happy with how the year went. There were a lot of improvements made. I felt really comfortable behind the plate.
I’ve said before, in talking with even the pitchers that I caught during the year, they helped me tremendously. Being able to get through that, improve my skill set a little bit quicker. Help them out and get on same page as them. So I’ve really enjoyed this year. I’ve had a lot of fun. You know, it was definitely a big step in the right direction. I’m very comfortable with how it went and I couldn’t be happier.
Q. You said it was comfortable. How long did it take to reach that point as a catcher again?
A. It's not necessarily the physical aspect of catching that takes adjustment, it's more learning how to deal with pitchers, reading the game in different situations. Physically, flexibility, stuff like that, but that comes naturally over time. The biggest parts were reading the pitchers, learning how to handle different situations in the game, lots of mental and strategical things that come along with the game of baseball.
Q. This organization puts a lot of emphasis on how its catchers manage pitchers, especially up here with Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki. Do you have a specific style for how you handle pitchers?
A. Each pitcher is different. As a catcher, you have your own style. But then again, pitchers have different pitches. Some pitchers have a little bit more speed, some have a little more off-speed stuff. So you can always adjust to pitchers rather than adapt your own style to everyone. I'd say you're always learning, always trying to improve and for me, watching guys like Flowers, Suzuki, other catchers. Just trying to learn and gather as much information as I can to better my skill set and get to that where it's a little easier to get certain calls.
Q. Do you have a favorite catcher or one you try to model yourself after?
A. Growing up, I was a big Pudge Rodriguez guy. He's one of the best to ever play the game. And not only from a catcher perspective, he played hard, had fun all the time, swung the bat well, and just to watch him play, how he went about himself. You can't get any better than that. And that's not even talking about how good he was defensively as a catcher.
So being able to learn from guys like that, like Flowers and Suzuki, and even learning from teammates of mine that have been catching, just thinking of different ways to approach things and situations. But like I said, I’m really, really happy with how the year went and I’m looking forward to improving on it.
Q. You're traded over here (from Seattle) and it seems to have rejuvenated your career. Is that fair to say?
A. You know what, I haven't even looked at it in a way like that. I've just looked at it as a new opportunity. Come over here, switch back to catching and (get) kind of a fresh start. Being able to hit the ground running, play hard, enjoy myself. And I've definitely been able to do all that and I couldn't be happier."
Q. Everyone can't stop talking about (Braves top outfielder prospect) Ronald Acuna. What have you seen from him?
A. Acuna's a tremendous, tremendous athlete. He has a tremendous skillset. It's fun to watch him play, especially being behind the plate. You see the plays he makes that you're like, 'Eh, I don't know that he can get there.' And he just finds a way to get there.
You see him at the plate, things he hits, the way he goes about it. He plays hard. Watch him run the bases. He’s got it all. It’s definitely been very enjoyable being a teammate of his. And hopefully down the road we’ll be teammates once again. But he’s a tremendous player, and there’s a bright future ahead of him.
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