Braves acquire Alex Jackson from SEA for Whalen and Povse

[dak]

John Manuel puts Jackson in the 18 - 20 range on the Braves prospect list. Seems about right.

[Enscheff]

If this is the plan, the deal got a whole lot more interesting.

DiPoto has shown what his supporters would say is a bold streak in his deals. Others would call him impatient. He's dealt players who will contribute in their new homes, notably Carson Smith, Mike Montgomery, Mark Trumbo, now Ketel Marie and Taijuan Walker. Once he decides he doesn't want to wait on a guy, they're gone.

So now he's decided to bolster his pitching with middling arms at the cost of giving up on a former #1 prematurely. Jackson wasn't making enough contact, but he was making improvements after he moved up the ladder and it wouldn't be a surprise to see that continue.

I did not know about his catcher past, but that sure makes him attractive to the Braves and interesting to me.

Here is what I found on him prior to the 2014 draft, when he was rated the #1 catcher in the class:

http://www.perfectgame.org/players/p...aspx?ID=288713

To quote:

"Huge power, very good defensive catcher, Also play OF well. Has all the tools, outstanding at PG Nat. Games and Area Codes. Outstanding at PG National. PG All American"

[nsacpi]

Jackson seems a lot like Braxton Davidson. Way too many k's but draws a lot of walks with a solid amount of power. They arent hitting great overall but are still around league average. They are both only 20 years old so theres plenty of time for the light to come on. Being first round picks they have serious upside if it does. With prospects the odds are always against you. All you can do is hedge your bets with as many lottery tickets. Sometimes you win nothing. Sometimes you win your money back. Sometimes you win 4$, but every now and then you hit the jackpot. Cant win if you dont play.



edit - I guess he is still young enough to convert to catching. If it doesnt hurt his bat he would be a significantly better prospect as a catcher.

Davidson and Jackson were both drafted in 2014. Davidson is 6 months younger. Davidson put up an OPS of .704 this past season in High A. Jackson put up an OPS of .740 in Low A.

[dak]

Jackson has obviously not performed to expectations in MiLB yet, but had hardly been a disaster. In his age 20 season in the Midwest League, he put up a 120 wRC+. That put him 30th out of 113 players with at least 300 PAs. Median age for the league is 21. Let's hope he can build on that . . . and is a solid Catcher.

[Julio3000]

How is this odd? Whalen and Povse are filler arms with little future in our system. We traded them at their peak for a guy with a big ceiling and potentially legit bat whose value is at its lowest. That's darn near the perfect trade.

Well said.

[Millwood1Hitter]

Listen here to Hart on draft day, he loved the kid and his arm. Said he thinks he'd be a good catcher, projects to be a 25-30 hr type hitter. Said he was the best power positional player in the draft and probably would be moved to the OF to fast track his bat to the majors.



Guys favorite player was Pudge Rodriguez.

Don't think there's any doubt what the Braves envision here. We traded to back of the rotation type arms for a big time talent at a position of need (whether that's catcher or outfielder).....good job Coppy!

Did I say I think the Braves move him to catcher?

[thethe]

Front office has navigated this rebuild incredibly well.

Coppy has turned out to be a fantastic GM.

[thethe]

I wouldn't be surprised to see John Hart put Jackson back behind the plate. He was an analyst for MLB Network during that draft and he believed in Jacksons ability behind the plate. Thought Seattle moved him to OF to fast track him and it's not working out. I love the move. We need bats. Whalen and Povse don't excite. Jackson does.

Well said.

[mqt]

Ultimately I don't see much chance of us lamenting the day we let Povse and Whalen go, but we could conceivably celebrate the day we got Jackson. There's a whole lot of risk in Jackson's bat, but when the price is two pitchers that I wouldn't rate in our top 10 pitching prospects, I think it's a worthwhile one.

[striker42]

I love the willingness of our front office to swap prospects for prospects. We have tremendous pitching depth but need minor league hitters. Makes all the sense in the world to make a swap like this.

[thethe]

Kyle Tait ‏@HearKyleTait 1h1 hour ago
#Braves first pick in 2014 draft was 32nd. Now they have Jackson (6th, Mariners), Newcomb (15th, Angels), Toussaint (16th, DBacks), by trade

[Hudson2]

He's super athletic so moving back to catcher shouldn't be a big deal. This trade could be huge for us. He was turning it around his first season before getting hurt. So I'm not worried about his numbers last year. Funny how we could have found our future catcher for 2 pitchers that were never gonna matter here.

[zbhargrove]

Maybe the PTBNL is Kyle Lewis ;) trollolololol

[emk418]

You make this trade any day of the week if you're the Braves. Povse could be a nice pitcher but he's a depth guy. Whalen too. We're desperate for long term power hitters. Obviously Jackson comes with risks and has struggled as a pro but too early to give up on him. He's absolutely worth a shot

[bravesfanMatt]

Won't complain about this trade but I think both Povse and Whalen will be in the bigs. I really like Povse. He was a big kid who threw hard and threw strikes. Hate to lose him. Hope this works out.

Edit**. And hopefully the Hart boner for this kid isn't like the last boner the FO had for a guy out west.

[Enscheff]

John Manuel puts Jackson in the 18 - 20 range on the Braves prospect list. Seems about right.

MLB.com just slotted him in at 13, between Muller and Riley.

[GovClintonTyree]

Here is what I found on him prior to the 2014 draft, when he was rated the #1 catcher in the class:

http://www.perfectgame.org/players/p...aspx?ID=288713

To quote:

"Yuge power, very good defensive catcher, Also play OF well. Has all the tools, outstanding at PG Nat. Games and Area Codes. Outstanding at PG National. PG All American"

Fixed

[GovClintonTyree]

He's super athletic so moving back to catcher shouldn't be a big deal. This trade could be huge for us. He was turning it around his first season before getting hurt. So I'm not worried about his numbers last year. Funny how we could have found our future catcher for 2 pitchers that were never gonna matter here.

He kind of profiles just like Zunino, who's a year earlier, who has everything you could possibly want in a catcher except an inability to lay off sliders on the outside corner. Maybe they moved him to right because they thought he'd be blocked by Zunino.

Oh, and because Jack Z had a deep, abiding love for RH power hitters who strike out a bunch.

[Oklahomabrave]

Good trade. I like the upside plays. That's my favorite key difference between the regime and Wren.

[Hudson2]

He kind of profiles just like Zunino, who's a year earlier, who has everything you could possibly want in a catcher except an inability to lay off sliders on the outside corner. Maybe they moved him to right because they thought he'd be blocked by Zunino.

Oh, and because Jack Z had a deep, abiding love for RH power hitters who strike out a bunch.

I'd be perfectly happy with a possible 20 homer C who strikes out a lot but has good defense. But you may be right about their thinking he could be blocked and moved him to fast track him. With us we can slow him down and give him time to develop.