The disconnect between his stuff and results may derive from his delivery. Some scouts believe Jackson shows the ball to hitters early in his release, making it easier for hitters to pick the ball up — and limiting the effect of his velocity. Rizzo believes Jackson still has “upside,” in part because of his release, which the Nationals perceive as a correctable flaw that surfaces only in his windup, not when he pitches from the stretch. The Nationals will work to make “tweaks” to his delivery, Rizzo said.
Over the past three seasons, the league has hit for a .283 batting average, .344 on-base percentage and .438 slugging percentage with no runners on base against Jackson, when he is pitching with a windup. The league has hit .246/.308/.385 with men on, when he’s pitching from the stretch.
“We’re going to make a few tweaks to his delivery,” Rizzo said. “He was a different pitcher out of the windup than out of the stretch. The numbers are really surprising.”
The question now will be, how do the Nationals make room for Jackson? Even after Lannan and Detwiler, the Nationals have Tom Gorzelanny, who began last season in their rotation and spent the majority of the year as a starter.
Detwiler, because of his youth and the fact that he is under team control for four seasons, would have far more trade value than Lannan. Detwiler is out of minor league options, which means the Nationals cannot send him to the minors. The Nationals cannot trade Wang until early summer because he signed this offseason as a free agent.
Lannan, whom the Nationals defeated in salary arbitration in a trial Wednesday, has an option remaining. But Lannan is an accomplished starter — he has a 4.03 ERA in 534 innings over the past three years, compared with 3.96 in 623 innings for Jackson — and Rizzo has no desire to send him down.
“We feel that he’s a major league-caliber starting pitcher,” Rizzo said. “He’s a major league starter, and he’s ready to help a contending team. That’s what we’re going to use him as.”
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