Last night, both Brian McCann and Alex Jackson had to leave their respective games with injuries. Both were precautionary, but it looks like McCann’s will be taken a little more serious, which isn’t a surprise given his age, importance to the team, and knee ailments in the past. He will land on the 10-Day IL, and according to Eric Cole of Talking Chop, the Braves will bring up Alex Jackson to take his place.
Hearing from sources within the organization that the current plan is to promote Alex Jackson to the Braves from Gwinnett. No word on Brian McCann's injury just yet, but the AJax promotion does suggest McCann will likely miss some time. You heard it here first.
— Eric Cole (@leprekhan) August 21, 2019
Jackson isn’t among the Braves top prospects by any means, but he’s having a remarkable year in the power department for Gwinnett. He has 25 home runs and 57 RBIs in just 81 games. Jackson will never be a player that hits for average, but in today’s game, few catching prospects come free of warts.
There was a significant possibility that Jackson spent September in Atlanta as the Braves third catcher anyways, and I still believe if there is one prospect that hasn’t been on the roster that could steal a spot on the playoff roster it is Jackson. Tyler Flowers has been beyond abominable at the plate, and he’s been even worse defensively. Jackson has made substantial strides as a defensive catcher, and there is no question his power off the bench would be more useful than what Flowers brings with the stick. Hopefully, he can perform in Atlanta as he has in Gwinnett.
The Braves officially announced the move to recall Alex Jackson from Gwinnett, and they have placed Brian McCann on the 10-day IL with a knee sprain.