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It was hard to fathom how the Oregon Ducks baseball team was going to replace the production of first baseman Jacob Walsh. But they were able to when the Ducks moved catcher Brayden Jaksa from catcher to the first base position.
With Burke-Lee Mabeus a staple behind the plate, Oregon was in a bind as Jaksa's bat was just too good to be sitting on the bench. He moved to first and the rest is history.
The true freshman flourished at first and became a dangerous bat in a dangerous lineup. For his efforts, where Jaksa slashed for a .318 batting average, an on-base percentage of. 400, while slugging .534 with a .934 OPS, he was named to the Second Team Freshman All-American Team by the National College Baseball Writers Association.
It shouldn't be a huge surprise that Jaksa produced the way he did. He was a top recruit out of California. Jaksa was the No. 2 player on the list of top 100 freshmen going to campus, according to D1 Baseball and the No. 4-ranked freshman out of the top 100 freshmen by Perfect Game. Jaksa was also the No. 1 catcher nationally and No. 9 player overall by Prep Baseball Report.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see what the Ducks do with Jaksa defensively. He was more than servicable at first base, but catching talents like his don't come around too often. Fortunately, Oregon has two more seasons with Jaksa as he won't be draft eligible until 2028.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon catcher/first baseman Brayden Jaksa named Freshman All-American
Continue reading...
With Burke-Lee Mabeus a staple behind the plate, Oregon was in a bind as Jaksa's bat was just too good to be sitting on the bench. He moved to first and the rest is history.
The true freshman flourished at first and became a dangerous bat in a dangerous lineup. For his efforts, where Jaksa slashed for a .318 batting average, an on-base percentage of. 400, while slugging .534 with a .934 OPS, he was named to the Second Team Freshman All-American Team by the National College Baseball Writers Association.
It shouldn't be a huge surprise that Jaksa produced the way he did. He was a top recruit out of California. Jaksa was the No. 2 player on the list of top 100 freshmen going to campus, according to D1 Baseball and the No. 4-ranked freshman out of the top 100 freshmen by Perfect Game. Jaksa was also the No. 1 catcher nationally and No. 9 player overall by Prep Baseball Report.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see what the Ducks do with Jaksa defensively. He was more than servicable at first base, but catching talents like his don't come around too often. Fortunately, Oregon has two more seasons with Jaksa as he won't be draft eligible until 2028.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon catcher/first baseman Brayden Jaksa named Freshman All-American
Continue reading...
