He was promoted to the High-A Lancaster JetHawks in 2004, where he ate up the batter-friendly league with a .345 average on 258 at-bats, increasing his home run production to 11 for his stint in the California league. His slugging percentage climbed to .562. 

Conor was doing so well that he was promoted to AA El Paso.  The move set off alarm bells in the MLN newsroom where he joined the hallowed hall of fast-track players on the FAB50 radar.  He didn't destroy the AA, but he did very well, finishing with a very respectable .301 average and a .456 slugging percentage, the first dip below .500 since arriving in pro ball.  He got a cup of coffee in Phoenix with the Diamondbacks, but it wasn't enough time to statistically gauge much.

In 2005, he received another promotion, this time to AAA Tucson, where he's batted .354 to date with a .553 slugging percentage. His on-base percentage is rising as well, at .457 right now, indicating that his bat is being figured into opponents' strategy with 69 or so walks so far this season.

At the end of July, Jackson received another call up to Phoenix. While his average has dipped to .217 there, his slugging numbers at .522 still suggest that he's not doing too badly for a player who's only been in the system for three seasons.

What does the scout and tout crowd have to say about Jackson? The buzz is on the bat. Their buzz saws and poison pens seem more aimed at the D-side of Jackson's game. Of course, it isn't entirely Jackson's fault. The Diamonbacks want him, so they've been trying to find a place in the depth chart where they can advance him quickly.

In college he was frequently a third baseman. The D-Backs tried converting his D to the outfield, which was a mistake for a guy who isn't quick on his feet and has difficulty reading the ball at those distances. So what do you do with a big bat that doesn't read motion or depth as well as some of your other farmhands? You make him a first baseman!

Conor was named to the 2005 Triple-A All-Star Team for the Pacfic Coast League where he cultivated the distracted three-day beard growth look for the national cameras, or perhaps a shot at securing a sponsorship deal with Gilette.

Jackson seems much more comfortable at first base, and it lets him get down to some of the tweaking that his hitting coaches have been doing with his swing. When he played in the Arizona Fall League last winter, he went through his 1500 mile checkup. A minor adjustment to his stance to produce more power caused a hitting explosion that allows him to unleash on the balls that he already reads very, very well.

Sources in the Diamondbacks organization tell us that Conor's cup of coffee for 2005 is just that: Another taste of the big leagues.  It will leave him hungry for more.  If he can maintain his numbers and reasonable D, there is no reason he needs to be driving back to Tucson in 2006.

 

See Also: MLN FAB50™ 2004; Triple-A AllStar Game 2005 Photos;