Promising Mets prospect continues to hit for power but his batting average has cratered
A third season in Double-A hasn't made him a more complete hitter.
![Jeremiah Jackson makes the throw from third for an out.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2500,h_1406,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/3/01hz1vz7k6n7fxawtyc7.jpg)
Despite slashing .264/.344/.457 in 37 games for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies after being acquired by the New York Mets last season, prospect Jeremiah Jackson was placed back in Double-A yet again. It is now his third consecutive season at this level.
Jackson has played in two more games and has three more plate appearances than he had with Binghamton last year. It’s a good time to see how much has changed. Unfortunately, while matching the 7 home runs he had in 151 plate appearances last season, not much else has gone well for the 24-year-old.
Batting .169/.234/.338 in the early going, the thing Jackson has hit the hardest this year is the proverbial minor league wall. Apparently, it’s at the Double-A level for him.
Can Mets prospect Jeremiah Jackson claw his way out of Double-A?
There are some things to like about Jackson even if the batting average has completely cratered. A versatile defender who has found himself playing mostly shortstop this season, he has cut down on his strikeouts. He fanned 50 times last year versus 40 this season. It’s only a slight improvement albeit an important one for a young player.
Aside from this, there isn’t much Jackson has improved. Just 2 stolen bases in as many chances, he had 6 in 8 tries last year with Binghamton. Combined with his time in Rocket City for the Los Angeles Angels, Jackson would steal a career-high 27 in 36 opportunities.
Unlike some Mets trades, there is little to regret about this one even if Jackson remains a work in progress. All it cost them was Dominic Leone, a reliever who was never all that good for the Mets and is pitching to an ERA of 7.04 with the Chicago White Sox. As a member of the Angels last year, he had a 5.54 ERA in 13 innings.
Jackson is one of the lower profile prospects added at last year’s trade deadline and no longer ranked among the top 30. The power is intriguing and yet with 10 of his 24 hits this year being for extra-base hits, he feels like a limited player.
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