Luke Jackson (baseball)
Luke Ray Jackson is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Seattle Mariners. He was drafted by the Rangers in the first round, 45th overall, of the 2010 MLB draft and made his MLB debut with them in 2015.
Early life
Jackson attended Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a senior, he went 8–0 with an 0.90 earned run average in innings pitched with 87 strikeouts for the baseball team. He graduated in 2010.Professional career
Texas Rangers
Minor leagues
The Texas Rangers drafted Jackson in the first round, with the 45th overall selection of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Rangers for a signing bonus of $1.545 million, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at the University of Miami. He made his professional debut in 2011 for the Hickory Crawdads, going 5–6 with a 5.64 ERA.Jackson started 2012 with Hickory and was promoted to the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans in June. For the two teams, he was 10–7 with a 4.65 ERA with 146 strikeouts, the second-most among Rangers minor leaguers, in 129.2 innings, and had 10.1 strikeouts per 9 innings.
He started 2013 back with Myrtle Beach. He was named a Carolina League Mid-Season All-Star. Jackson was promoted to the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders during the season. Between the two teams, he was 11–4 with a 2.04 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 25 games and 128 innings. Batters hit.202 against him, the 7th-lowest batting-average-against among all full season pitchers. After the season, he was named the Nolan Ryan Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and an MiLB organization All Star. Baseball America rated him the ninth-best prospect in the Carolina League.
Jackson started 2014 back with Frisco. He was named a Texas League Mid-Season All-Star. He was later promoted to Triple-A Round Rock Express. His aggregate 126 strikeouts were third-most among Texas minor league pitchers.
In 2015, Jackson started the season with Round Rock. He converted to the bullpen in May, after having started 97 of his first 101 professional games. He was called up to the majors for the first time on August 6, 2015. However, he was sent back down to Round Rock on August 11, before making an appearance with the Rangers, making him a phantom ballplayer.
Major leagues
The Rangers again promoted Jackson to the major leagues on September 1. His MLB debut on September 4 went poorly: he allowed an RBI double to C. J. Cron of the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, giving up 2 runs and getting 2 outs. In 2015 with Texas, Jackson earned no decisions, had a 4.26 ERA in innings, and his fastball velocity of 96.8 miles per hour was in the top 5% in baseball.Jackson split the 2016 season between the Rangers, the 15-day disabled list, and the minors.
Atlanta Braves
On December 8, 2016, the Rangers traded Jackson to the Atlanta Braves for pitchers Tyrell Jenkins and Brady Feigl.In 2017 in the majors, Jackson was 2–0 with a 4.62 ERA in innings over 43 relief appearances. Batters had a 41.5% hard-hit percentage against him, in the highest 2% in baseball. Jackson was designated for assignment on December 20, 2017.
Jackson had his contract purchased by Atlanta on April 4, 2018, but he was designated for assignment a second time on April 15. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. He had his contract purchased again on May 6, then was again removed from the roster two days later. On June 5, he was called up once again. Jackson was later designated for assignment once more on June 13. He was called up once again on June 17. With Gwinnett in 2018, he was 2–1 with a 1.69 ERA across innings in which he struck out 34 batters in 10 games. With Atlanta, he was 1–2 with a 4.43 ERA and one save in innings, striking out 46 batters. In 2018, he stopped throwing a changeup, threw a lower percentage of four-seam fastballs and curveballs, and began to throw his slider more.
In 2019, Jackson served as the team's closer for much of the first half of the season. He was 9–2 with a career-high 18 saves, a 3.84 ERA, and 106 strikeouts in innings over 70 relief appearances. Jackson induced a 60.5% ground ball percentage, the third-highest in baseball. He induced a chase rate of 35.1%, in the best 4% in baseball, and a whiff percentage of 36.7%, in the best 3% of baseball.
In 2020, he was 2–0 with a 6.84 ERA in innings over 19 relief appearances. He had a barrel percentage against of 3.1, in the best 5% in baseball.
In 2021, Jackson was 2–2 with a 1.98 ERA and 70 strikeouts in innings in 71 games. His 31 holds ranked second in the major leagues. Between 2015 and 2021, he relied mostly on his 88 mph ground ball-inducing slider and 96 mph four-seam fastball, also throwing an 85 mph curveball. He won a championship that year as Atlanta won the World Series in six games.
In early April 2022, the Braves disclosed that magnetic resonance imaging had revealed damage to the ulnar collateral ligament of Jackson's right elbow. He underwent successful Tommy John surgery on that elbow on April 13. In May, Jackson lost his arbitration case, receiving a $3.6 million salary for the 2022 season. He missed the 2022 season due to injury.
San Francisco Giants
On January 9, 2023, Jackson signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, with a club option for 2025. He would earn $3 million in 2023, and $6.5 million in 2024. The Giants had an option for $7 million for 2025, with a $2 million buyout if declined. After rehab stints with the Single-A San Jose Giants and Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, Jackson was activated from the injured list on May 30. He debuted with the Giants the next night, his first appearance in the majors since the 2021 World Series. He was 2–2 with two blown saves in 33 games, with a 2.97 ERA and 43 strikeouts in innings.Jackson started the 2024 season with a 4–2 record, 5.40 ERA, and 33 strikeouts in 35 innings.