In a year where the Philadelphia Phillies desperately need a phenom to take one of the many open jobs, Ryan Jackson has been phenomenal.
Jackson, 27, doesn’t fit the profile of a typical phenom, but the Phillies need players of any age and Jackson is using his experience kicking around the minor leagues to grab an infield job. Jackson has been an infielder, mostly second baseman, for 711 of his 722 games, but he has taken charge with his bat so far. He has the most hits (6) of any Phillies player and his average is .500. Admittedly, it is a small sample, but Jackson will not have to do much to finish with an impressive spring training average.
Conversely, the leading candidate for the Phillies’ second base job is Cesar Hernandez, and he has not given manager Pete Mackanin any faith so far with a 1-for-9 start at the plate. Jackson also plays shortstop and could be a backup option there if the Phillies want to give their top prospect, J.P. Crawford, a full year in Triple-A.
Crawford has been fast-tracked to the majors thus far, splitting time between high Single-A and Double-A when the reality is that the Phillies have the luxury of taking their time with him. They are at least two years away from being a competitive MLB team and a full year of Crawford in Triple-A would be beneficial for both the player and the team.
That’s where Jackson comes in, and he could be an option because this small sample comes off a terrific 2015 season in Triple-A where he hit .295 in 104 games with two homers and 28 RBIs. For a team that needs offense, plugging Jackson in at second or shortstop is an option now due to a fast start.
