Austin Jackson, the Detroit Tigers' rookie centerfielder and leadoff hitter, has had an absolutely mind-boggling start to the year. Through 38 games, Jackson, who's 23 years old, is batting .329, ranking him seventh in the American League, an impressive feat for a rookie. More amazingly, he's done this while accumulating 46 strikeouts in 161 at-bats. After subtracting strikeouts, Jackson's batting average is .461, which means that each time he simply makes contact with the ball so that it travels into fair territory, he's had a hit 46 percent of the time!
The law of averages suggest this is an impossible clip to sustain. As good as professional ballplayers are, there's a certain amount of luck regarding where a ball actually goes in the stadium once the hitter makes contact. He can try to hit it to right field, but once it goes there, he can't fully control whether it avoids the rightfielder for a hit or lands in his glove for an out. A 46 percent success rate is well above the average. Jackson is one of the game's luckiest players or superhuman in his ability to control the ball's path. Or more likely, Jackson will continue striking out at this clip and see his average end around .275 for the year or he'll learn plate discipline and be headed for an excellent, perhaps Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Power hitters often have lots of strikeouts because their big swings create feast or famine, but not so traditionally for those who hit for high averages. They're skilled in part because they have a great eye for good pitches. It's unlikely that Jackson will break the mold. However, considering so many of the top prospects these days arrive in the majors with mammoth strikeout rates, maybe anomalies like this won't be so unusual anymore.
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