After a remarkable junior season at Georgia that saw him win the Golden Spikes award, former Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson decided to leave a season early to pursue his dream of making it to the MLB. Everyone knows this was the right decision for him after being named the best player in college baseball this past season, but it was still sad to see Jackson go.
Georgia fans however will be ready to cheer him on wherever he ends up going next, and on Saturday he was taken 37th overall by the Colorado Rockies.
Any team could've drafted Jackson, but it was the Rockies who decided to take a chance on him, and it turns out that this may just be the perfect landing spot for him.
The Colorado Rockies are the perfect landing spot for Daniel Jackson
One of the things that made Jackson so special in Athens was his raw power at the plate. Jackson belted 32 home runs during the season, and that arguably is the biggest reason why he was drafted so high on Saturday.
That power would be great in any MLB ballpark, but the Rockies stadium is known for giving up a lot of home runs compared to the average MLB field. So Jackson should expect to continue his impressive hitting even after entering the MLB.
On top of that, the Rockies aren't a very good team. They are dead last in the NL West this season, so this means that Jackson could earn his chance to make his MLB debut sooner than he could've at any other organization.
Jackson will also join former Bulldog Charlie Condon who is in the Rockies organization as well during Wes Johnson's first season as Georgia's head coach. The two never played together in Athens, but Condon won the Golden Spikes award in 2024, so they will certainly be able to bond over that.
Jackson has a lot of work to do before he will be given a chance to play for the Rockies, but all things considered this may have been the best landing spot for him.
Daniel Jackson enters the MLB with a major chip on his shoulder
Jackson has a great chance to excel in the MLB because he was taken by the Rockies, but the added chip to his shoulder will certainly help as well.
Being taken 37th overall in the MLB Draft is no joke, but he arguably should've been drafted much higher. After winning the Golden Spikes award he left no doubt that he was college baseball's best player, and that includes being the best catcher in the country, but somehow there were two other catchers drafted before him.
Who knows how much Jackson will care about this, but this could be the one thing he needed to jump-start his MLB career. He now has extra motivation to prove how big of a mistake that was, and knowing Jackson he certainly will be up to the task.
It may be a couple years before Jackson makes his MLB debut, but when that time comes he will be ready. And no Georgia fan will be surprised to see him eventually become an every day starter and one of the best hitters in the entire MLB.
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