Fan Interference

The Seattle Mariners traded former number 1 pick Alex Jackson to the Atlanta Braves for Rob Whalen and Max Povse.

Jackson, the sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft, is still just twenty years old and has only played two professional seasons. But GM Jerry Dipoto — who wasn’t at the helm in Seattle when Jackson was selected — evidently didn’t see enough evidence of his future potential.

Despite a tough 2015 debut year, Jackson received some top-100 leaguewide billing entering the 2016 campaign. He did show some improvement at the Class A level, but ended with a relatively meager .243/.332/.408 batting line and 11 home runs over 381 plate appearances. Jackson also went down on strikeouts 103 times while drawing 34 walks.

I’m not sure if this is a case of Dipoto just blanketedly cleaning house, or if he’s making a statement that his predecessor really doesn’t know what he was doing.  Either way, it’s not often you see a number 1 draft pick traded so quickly after getting drafted especially so when not receiving a top tier player in return.  Only time will tell if this trade is more Jake Arrieta or Drew Henson.