SWB Yankees Q&A with Austin Jackson
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JACKSON
Playing his first Triple-A season at 22 years old, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees center fielder Austin Jackson is among the International League leaders in hits, batting average and on-base percentage while playing strong defense in the outfield and going 12-for-12 on stolen base attempts. Yet he still has plenty of critics who want to see him hit for more power and say he strikes out too much.
Q: People still make a big deal out of the fact you have only one home run. Do you feel like you're not being appreciated for being 22 years old and hitting .340 in Triple-A?
A:Maybe a little bit. I've been saying it the whole time that I think (hitting home runs) is something that's going to come. If it doesn't, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm satisfied with hitting. That's all I want to do. If I happen to hit a lot of home runs in a season or don't hit any, I'm satisfied with just hitting.
Q:You've been driving the ball to the opposite field a lot. Has that always been part of your game?
A:I think that's my approach more than it has been in the past because a lot of pitchers are staying away. In the past, that was something I really struggled on, going the other way really driving the ball, so that was something that I really wanted to focus on is being able to take the pitch middle or middle-away and drive it to the opposite field.
Q:You've talked about trying to cut down on the strikeouts. Are there things you're actively trying to do to strikeout less?
A: You're going to strike out, everybody strikes out. I think that the drift (lunging toward the pitch) accounts for a lot of those strikeouts because you swing at bad pitches, but once I get consistent with staying back and letting the ball travel, seeing the ball a little longer, I think I'll be able to cut down on some strikeouts.
Q:You already have 12 stolen bases this year after 19 all of last season. Are you doing anything differently on the bases?
A:Just trying to pick certain times (to go). Sometimes when I get on the pitcher is really holding me, or they're quicker to the plate, and I understand that. There's not reason trying to steal the bag if the guy is 1.2 (seconds) to the plate and I get thrown out. It's just picking good counts to steal on and making sure the guy's not too fast to the plate, and just get it. You can't be too scared to steal bags or else you're not going to get them.
Q:Do you feel yourself getting better at knowing when to go?
A:I definitely have had to learn that in the past. Picking counts is the main thing. I'm just trying to learn that a lot more, and hopefully I can steal some more.
Q:Do you feel yourself getting better defensively as well?
A:Yeah. Especially playing the corners. Sometimes the angle of the ball comes off a little differently, it may come off slicing or fading. That's been the main thing, and I'm learning with that too because this is probably the most I've played in the corners throughout my minor league seasons.
Q:On the whole, we're about halfway through the year, how do you think it's gone so far?
A:I'm happy with how it's been so far. I'm not satisfied. I still think there's always room for improvement and I feel like I could always be doing better.
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