As the Cub faithful await the arrival of Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, and Albert Almora to join Javy Baez in leading the team to multiple World Series titles, they would be wise to think back all the way to Thursday night, when the previous centerpiece of a successful Cub future was traded to the Diamondbacks in the middle of the night with little to no fanfare.
Brett Jackson, the Cubs first round draft pick in 2009, combined speed and power and quickly became the highest rated prospect in the Cubs system. He, along with 2007 first round pick Josh Vitters, were the latest in a long line of prospects that were expected to finally lead the Cubs to the promised land. There was just one problem: Jackson’s bat had trouble finding the baseball when he swung at it.
His strikeout rate rose at each level of the minor league system, but the Cubs still decided to promote him to the big leagues in 2012. He appeared in 44 games, had 120 at bats, and struck out 59 times while putting up a .175 average. After that, things fell apart for Jackson, as he started to struggle at Triple A, striking out at an even higher rate, and he never came close to returning to the big leagues.
As the Cubs put together their so-called “Core Four”, Jackson found himself outside the plans for the Cubs future. Wednesday night, he was traded to the Diamondbacks in exchange for a 26-year old pitcher who just made it to Triple A for the first time.
With Javy Baez already up in the major leagues and Bryant and Soler not far behind, many Cub fans are already looking forward to a successful future. But, as Brett Jackson found out, the future is a nebulous place where nothing is certain.
