With ‘constant communication’ and steady reps, Alex Jackson settling in with Marlins
Alex Jackson scans Petco Park, taking in the ballpark he attended so often as a kid growing up in San Diego. Dozens of family members and friends are in seats down the third-base line, just beyond the visiting team’s dugout Jackson and the Miami Marlins are occupying for three days.
“It’s always a lot of fun to be able to come back home,” Jackson said Tuesday before the middle game of the Marlins’ three-game against the San Diego Padres.
The Marlins hope he’ll wind up calling Miami home for a long time.
The Marlins see long-term potential in Jackson, a 25-year-old catcher and former first-round pick by the Seattle Mariners who is under team control through the 2026 season. That’s why they sent Adam Duvall to the Braves at MLB’s July 30 trade deadline to acquire him. They’ve liked what they have seen in his limited sample size so far.
But they are also cognizant that results might not come immediately. That’s especially true with a position like catcher, where there are so many facets of the job to maneuver.
“The honest truth is here at the beginning, the goal is to get him acclimated to how we do things — our pitchers, our processes — more than jumping in and making physical adjustments or anything like that,” Marlins catching coach Eddy Rodriguez said. “Right now, our goal with Alex is to kind of show him the ropes of how we do things, our processes and have him learn every pitcher. They all have their quirks, their needs, their different trigger points.”
That requires steady starts, steady playing time. Marlins general manager Kim Ng last week said she anticipates Jackson will start “several games a week” so that the organization can get a better feel for him.
It also means more work behind the scenes to lessen Jackson’s learning curve. There are a lot of pitchers to meet on this Marlins staff, especially with an ever-changing starting rotation.
“It’s constant communication,” Rodriguez said. “That’s the key to this. ... There’s no substitute for being in the game.”
Jackson has taken full advantage to this point while juggling everything. Pregame can be hectic.
There are discussions with pitchers and meetings with Rodriguez and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. to finalize game plans and go over scouting reports. On days he’s not starting, he’ll catch bullpens to get an extra chance to learn pitchers’ tendencies. He still has fielding work and batting practice to squeeze in before first pitch as well.
“That’s really all you can do,” Jackson said, “is try and prepare as best as you can. Go out there and hopefully execute what you prepared.”
“You can tell he’s a hard worker,” added bench coach and Marlins acting manager James Rowson. “He’s driven. He’s focused. He expects himself to be a really good player. His expectations for himself, to this point just talking to him, are high, which you like and you want. You want the player to want to be the best he can be. So far, he’s willing to do anything we asked him to do. We’re still watching and getting comfortable.”
And while defense is generally the priority for catchers, Rowson is also intrigued by Jackson’s “raw power” offensively. Since Jackson made his Marlins debut on Aug. 2, his 91.9 mph average exit velocity is tied with the Chicago White Sox’s Seby Zavala and the Los Angeles Angels’ Max Stassi for the the highest among 21 catchers with at least 10 balls put into play in that span. Jackson had an exit velocity above 100 mph on four of the first 13 balls he put into play.
His first career home run was 411 foot shot to straightaway center at loanDepot park.
“I like the swing,” Rowson said. “I like a lot of things that he does on the offensive side and he’s done a pretty good job. “
But Jackson knows — and the Marlins hope — there’s more to come.
“Every day that you get, you get more comfortable. You get more experience,” Jackson said. “You settle into working with guys, settle into the process and the way everything goes. That’s the biggest thing. I definitely feel like I’m getting a lot more comfortable.”
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