by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (5/13/2013) It turned out after all Austin Jackson's hamstring injury was more serious than the Tigers let on. The team announced Monday they placed Jackson, who missed Sunday's game against the Indians, on the 15-day disabled list with a pulled right hamstring and recalled prospect Avisail Garcia from Triple-A Toledo, according to MLB.com.
Manager Jim Leyland said Sunday he held Jackson out of the lineup "for precautionary reasons" and considered Jackson a "go" if needed.
Austin Jackson's sore hamstring a minor concern
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (5/13/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson was held out of Sunday's lineup against the Indians because of soreness in his right hamstring, but it's not a major concern. Manager Jim Leyland sat Jackson as a precaution, per MLB.com.
"He can go," Leyland said, "but it's hard for him to really burn into that extra gear. So I'm just giving him a day off for precautionary reasons."
The Tigers open a series with Houston Monday. Jackson is batting .267 (16 for 60) with one home run, four doubles, four RBI, six walks, 13 runs and 16 strikeouts in his last 15 games.
Austin Jackson gets Sunday off
by Jack Moore | CBSSports.com (5/12/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson is out of Sunday's lineup, MLB.com reports.
Jackson has played in all 34 games (33 starts) for Detroit, so it's about time he earned a rest day. Jackson is hitting .272/.333/.371 with five steals and 33 runs scored.
Austin Jackson's sore hammy responds to off-day
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (5/4/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson returned to the starting lineup for Saturday's contest against the Astros after coming off the bench the night before. He has been dealing with a sore left hamstring but the 26-year-old told MLB.com he benefited from the day off.
"You get a chance to get a full day of work on it," he said of the hamstring. "Give it a break for a day. It definitely helped. It's kind of tough to work on it when you're playing every day."
Austin Jackson out of Tigers' lineup Friday
by Jack Moore | CBSSports.com (5/3/2013) Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson is out of Friday's lineup for a day off, Fox Sports Detroit reports.
Jackson has played in all 27 games for Detroit. He's hitting .293/.356/.407 and has stolen five bases without being caught.
Austin Jackson strikes out four times but gets three hits
by Jack Moore | CBSSports.com (5/3/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson went 3 for 7 but struck out four times in Thursday's extra-inning win against Houston. Jackson scored two runs, including eventual game-winner in the top of the 14th.
Although Jackson has a history of being strikeout prone -- his 26 percent strikeout rate (strikeouts per plate appearance) over his first two seasons rivaled even Adam Dunn and Ryan Howard -- he has made great strides in making contact since. Even with Thursday's golden sombrero, Jackson has an 18.4 percent strikeout rate -- roughly the league average.
Austin Jackson all over the bases
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (4/27/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson reached base four times on Saturday in a win over the Braves. Jackson was 2 for 2 with two walks.
The leadoff man singled twice and scored a run as he was patient enough to receive two free passes. He added a sacrifice and is batting .287.
Jackson had been slumping but has now hit in three straight games.
Manager defends slumping Austin Jackson
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (4/25/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson has seen his batting average quickly plummet in a matter of games. Jackson was batting .393 as of April 16, but after a 0-for-5 performance Wednesday against the Royals, Jackson is mired in a 1-for-30 slump that has dropped his season average to .275.
Jackson has particularly seen his strikeout total spike. After striking out five times in his first 13 games, Jackson has 12 strikeouts in his last six games.
"That's part of the game," Leyland said, per The Detroit News. "Sometimes you're doing really well, you're really in a groove, then all of a sudden, you subconsciously try to do a little bit more, and it ends up being a little bit less until you get it evened out again. I don't think it's anything more than that. People don't hit at a .420 clip all year. It's not fair to expect anyone to do that."
Austin Jackson has green light
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/20/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson stole two bases for the first time since his rookie season Friday night against the Angels. He took advantage of catcher Chris Iannetta both times, and opponents are 11-for-11 stealing bases on Iannetta.
"We thought we had a shot, so we tried to take advantage of it," manager Jim Leyland told MLB.com. "It worked out fine. To their credit, [Angels manager] Mike [Scioscia] called a pitchout on the one and he still beat it."
Leyland added that Jackson has the green light to steal whenever he wants but the manager reserves the right to put a stop sign on him.
Jackson entered Saturday batting .333 (25 for 75) with a homer, six RBI and four stolen bases through 16 games.
Strikeouts finally arrive for Austin Jackson
by Chris Cwik | CBSSports.com (4/18/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson has shown a bit of a skill change this season, though his old demons came back to haunt him Wednesday.
Jackson has cut his strikeout rate significantly to begin the season, but notched four punch-outs Wednesday. Research has shown that strikeout rate stabilizes pretty quickly, so there's a chance Jackson can retain his early season surge.
Getting bullish on Austin Jackson
by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (4/17/2013) A couple weeks ago, I pointed out that Austin Jackson's strikeout rate is significantly lower than in past years and that if it continues, he could take leap forward, potenially emerging as a top-15 outfielder. Well, Tigers manager Jim Leyland just gave me reason to believe it will continue.
Apparently, Jackson eliminated a high leg kick and some of the other unnecessary movement in his stance and now "knows what to do with two strikes," Leyland told MLive.com. Makes sense. Equipped with that knowledge, I'll go on record to say he's not a sell-high guy.
Austin Jackson 'a more confident hitter'
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (4/17/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson has become a better hitter after falling behind early in the count.
Through 2010-12, Jackson hit just .176 (69 for 391) with 213 strikeouts after falling behind in the count 0-2. This season, Jackson is batting .364 (4 for 11) with one walk, two RBI and two strikeouts after the count goes 0-2.
"He got rid of the high leg kick," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, per MLive.com. "He knows what to do with two strikes. He stays on the ball better. He doesn't have all that movement and stuff. He's just a different-looking hitter. He's a more confident hitter. The more success you have, the more confidence you get."
Austin Jackson homers among four hits
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/14/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson hit safely for the 11th time through 12 games in Sunday's series finale against the A's. He went 4 for 6 with a homer, three RBI and three runs scored in the 10-1 win.
The 26-year-old led off the contest with a single before launching a two-run home run off starter Jarrod Parker in the second inning. He added two more singles, including one that drove in Jhonny Peralta in the seventh.
"We grind out our at-bats pretty good," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "Jackson really sets a good tempo for us. When your leadoff hitter gets four hits, you should score some runs."
Jackson is batting .394 (13 for 33) during his six-game hitting streak.
Austin Jackson making more contact
by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (4/12/2013)Austin Jackson may have only one extra-base hit so far this year, but I'm encouraged by another aspect of his performance. So far, the Tigers outfielder has four strikeouts in 40 at-bats.
That's one in 10. Normally, he's more like one in four. More than that, even.
You may remember he showed improvement early last year as well, striking out 29 times in his first 136 at-bats, so maybe in due time, he'll revert to his free-swinging ways. But right now, strikeouts are the only real flaw in his game. If he cuts back on those, he's an assured .300 hitter -- perhaps even something like Melky Cabrera was last year.
At age 26, a breakout season is hardly far-fetched. I'm not moving Jackson up my rankings just yet, but he and Desmond Jennings are probably the two top-25 outfielders most likely to achieve top-15 status by season's end.
Austin Jackson has three hits
by Chris Cwik | CBSSports.com (4/11/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson had three singles Thursday.
Jackson went 3 for 6 with three runs scored and an RBI. Jackson has hit safely in all but one of the club's nine games.
Austin Jackson scores three times vs. Yankees
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (4/6/2013) Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson enjoyed a solid performance at the plate as he reached base four times and scored three runs during Saturday's contest against the Yankees.
Jackson singled in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings as he finished 3 for 5 with three runs scored in an 8-4 victory. He is hitting .429/.500/.476 but has yet to drive in a run through the first five games of the season.
Austin Jackson not wasting any time
by Bill Passonno | CBSSports.com (4/5/2013) Detroit outfielder Austin Jackson went 2 for 4 with a walk during the Tigers' 8-3 victory over the Yankees Friday. Jackson ripped one of his singles in the first inning and has now collected a hit in the opening inning of all four games this season.
The Tigers' leadoff hitter now is carrying a .375 batting average and .474 on-base percentage.
Austin Jackson looking for more steals
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (3/31/2013) Detroit center fielder Austin Jackson is expected to lead off for the Tigers when they open their season Monday in Minnesota.
Jackson, 26, did not have a solid spring as he hit just .229 over 70 at-bats. That said, he did hit three triples, score 12 runs, drive in eight and steal two bases.
Detroit would be thrilled if Jackson could match his .300 batting average from last season this year. He scored 103 runs, drove in 66 and had an .856 OPS last year, though he stole just 12 bases after 22 the year prior. The Tigers would like to see him steal more bases, reports MLive.com.
Jackson to steal more bases?
by Nando Di Fino | Senior Fantasy Writer (1/25/2013) The Detroit News Speculated on Friday that Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson -- and the entire team, in general -- could see their steals rise in 2013 thanks to the hiring of baserunning consultant Jeff Cox, the former third base coach of the White Sox, Pirates, and Marlins. "We obviously would like to see guys steal more bases," Leyland said. "We're bringing Jeff in to work with base-stealing." Detroit had the second-fewest steals in 2012, with 59.
Jackson and Tigers avoid arbitration
by Nando Di Fino | Senior Fantasy Writer (1/18/2013) CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman reported on Friday that the Tigers and outfielder Austin Jackson have agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
