Quakes' Jackson homers in third straight game

Coming into a new year in a new system, Drew Jackson has had an exploratory approach to his development.
"It's finding his authentic swing. He's done a lot of work since coming over from Seattle to get going in a positive direction," Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga manager Drew Saylor said. "It's getting his swing on plane, finding ways to get his bat in the contact zone longer, and we're seeing a nice little sample size of that over the last couple games. It's more just a product of the work he's been putting in."
The 18th-ranked Dodgers prospect homered in his third straight game, going 1-for-2 with three walks and three runs scored in the Quakes' 10-2 win over the visiting San Jose Giants on Monday.

Box score
Coming from the Mariners along with Aneurys Zabala in a deal for Chase De Jong on March 1, the 23-year-old shortstop is batting .288/.425/.559 with four homers, four doubles and five steals through his first 16 games in the new system. By contrast, also in the California League last year, he hit .258 with six homers and 16 steals over 124 games.
"I think learning your swing is an ever-flowing process. It's never 'the swing,' and then you've got it. It's going to continue to evolve," Saylor said. "But he's dealing with some of the questions posed to him. He's learning to get better, and we've assisted him in getting the ball up in the air a little bit more."
The Giants made the right-handed-hitting leadoff man wait for Monday's long ball. He saw six pitches in a first-inning walk against 14th-ranked San Francisco prospect Matt Krook to work a walk in the first inning, and the duo repeated that scenario in the second. Up against the southpaw again in the fourth, Jackson walked on five pitches.

"One of our biggest focuses is understanding what a pitcher features, and understanding and being able to find a plan to maximize our swings. We're not necessarily taking many swings in the zone -- it's being more specific, a 'measure twice, cut once' kind of thing," the Rancho Cucamonga skipper said. "The idea is to have better plans and sticking with those plans -- being willing to die with them up at the plate. He's taken a lot of tight pitches he can't really do much with. It's been good to see." 
After striking out against another lefty, Carlos Diaz, in the fifth, he drilled the 1-0 pitch from righty Caleb Simpson out of the park in the seventh.
"It was to left-center field. We have a billboard wall there and then some trees, and it was over the billboard out at the base of the trees." Saylor said.
The Quakes' No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters -- all top Dodgers prospects --- also feasted. Will Smith (No. 14) singled, walked and scored twice, and  DJ Peters (No. 19) went 2-for-5 with his first Cal League home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. Cleanup man Yusniel Díaz (No. 6) was 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs, two runs scored and a walk. He also stole a base. 
"They've been swinging bats pretty well. Part of it is Will Smith and Drew Jackson seeing pitches and setting the tone," Saylor said.
"[Jackson] and Smitty have seen a lot of pitches at the top of the lineup. That's really been a benefit with DJ and Yusniel up at the plate, because they see a lot of pitches. When the [opposing pitcher] is on pitch five of an at-bat in front of you, you really have a feel for it. That's the really good thing about the dynamic in this lineup, and I hope we can keep it up."
Left-hander Caleb Ferguson (1-1) allowed a run on four hits while whiffing six without a walk over six innings.