Alex Jackson included in Keith Law's Top 100 Prospect List

On the heels of yesterday's farm system ranking, Keith Law released his Top 100 Prospect List earlier today. Could-have-been-a-Mariner Corey Seager is ranked number 1. We bought a Zunino instead. It's fine. The Mariners lone entry on the list is Alex Jackson, ranked 95. His placement here is similar to his ranking on the Baseball Prospectus Top 101, where he clocked in at 94, perhaps because the BP team felt sorrier for us that Keith Law did. Or maybe that far down on the list, you don't quibble about a spot or two.

The paucity of Mariners outside of Jackson is no surprise, given how poorly the system fared overall. Law says of Jackson, "...he has to be project No. 1 for the new player development staff in Seattle. If they can't fix his physical approach, he has huge bust potential." Setting aside the organizational mess that is the current farm system, as Law hints, Jackson will be an intriguing test of the new approach to player development under Andy McKay. Jackson was a highly touted bat coming into the 2014 draft, but has struggled. The defensive skill set and raw power are attractive, but he has yet to put it all together. He expands the zone unnecessarily, but could be a tremendous asset if the club's renewed focus on controlling said zone takes root. Prospect lists are as much about the system as the player, and Jackson embodies that as much as anyone in the Top 100. If he (and the organization) can figure it out, he can begin the process of rebuilding. If he (and they) can't, he might be doomed to languish further.