News
Cubs' No. 1 pick Jackson signs
Outfielder inks $972,000 deal at Wrigley, to begin workouts
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
06/26/09 4:09 PM ET
CHICAGO -- Brett Jackson, the Cubs' No. 1 Draft pick, officially signed his contract on Friday and was headed to the team's facility in Mesa, Ariz., to begin workouts.Jackson agreed to a $972,000 contract with the Cubs, signing it at Wrigley Field. He will report to Class A Boise after he trains for an unspecified time in Arizona.
An outfielder for the University of California Berkeley, Jackson was the 31st player taken overall. He was ranked as the second-best overall athlete among all available college players in the 2009 Draft class by Baseball America and named to the 2009 All-Pac 10 team after hitting .321 with eight homers, 17 doubles and 41 RBIs his junior season.
A left-handed hitter, Jackson opened the season with a career-high 18-game hitting streak, batting .408 with eight doubles, a triple, four home runs and 14 RBIs. He turned in a career-best effort May 12 against Sacramento State when he went 4-for-6 with a grand slam, three-run triple and an RBI single to total eight RBIs.
Overall, his 17 doubles tied for sixth in the Pac-10, his six triples ranked second, his 123 total bases ranked seventh and his 70 hits ranked eighth.
In three seasons at UC Berkeley, Jackson batted .303 with 91 runs scored, 25 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs and 85 RBIs in 152 games.
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
