Oct. 8, 2009

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Former Furman pitcher Jay Jackson has been rated the No. 11 prospect in the Double-A Southern League, according to Baseball America.

Jackson, 22, a ninth round draft selection in 2008, "looks like a steal for the (Chicago) Cubs," according Baseball America writer Ben Badler, who ranked the league's Top 20 prospects. Braves outfielder Jason Heyward was the Southern League's No. 1 prospect.

Said Badler, "Jackson has excellent arm strength and arm speed, sitting at 91-94 mph and touching 95 with his fastball. He shows the ability to spin two breaking balls, a plus curveball in the high 70s and an 83-87 mph slider that grades out as at least average. His changeup is still a work in progress but could become an average pitch down the road.

"An excellent athlete, Jackson has fairly smooth mechanics but his command still needs work. He has a tendency to overthrow, rather than staying back in his delivery and letting his quick arm take cover. He also has a tendency to drop his arm slot, which at 6-foot-1 give him some issued with his plane to the plate."

One American League scout had this to say about Jackson: "He's got a great live arm. It's just a matter of him learning how to command it, but not many guys who throw 94-95 at that age can command it yet."

In 16 starts the former Paladin All-Southern Conference pitcher went 5-5 this year with a 3.70 ERA for Tennessee, the Cubs' Double-A Southern League affiliate. In 83 innings of work for the Smokies, he struck out 77 and limited opponents to a .236 batting average. He was the winning pitcher in the 2009 Southern League All-Star Game.

He earned a late season promotion to Triple-A Iowa, where in his only start he earned the victory against Albuquerque after yielding a run on five hits over six innings.

In two seasons of professional ball, Jackson has posted a 12-9 record with a 2.95 ERA, recording 199 strikeouts in 177.0 innings of action.