Zach Jackson (pitcher, born 1983)

On July 20, 2004, Jackson signed with the Blue Jays.^[6] He began his career with the Single-A Auburn Doubledays, posting a 5.40 ERA in four starts.^[7] In 2005, his first full season in the Blue Jays organization, Jackson made the leap from Single-A to Triple-A. He made 27 minor league starts, posting a combined 16–8 record and a 3.92 ERA across three levels of baseball.^[7]

On December 7, 2005, Jackson was traded along with Dave Bush and Gabe Gross to the Milwaukee Brewers for Lyle Overbay and Ty Taubenheim.^[8] The Brewers assigned Jackson to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds at the beginning of the 2006 season. He pitched well to start the season, and had a 3.00 ERA for the first month and a half.^[9] The Brewers called Jackson up on June 2 to help with their current pitching problems.^[10] He made his major league debut on June 4 against the Washington Nationals, tossing a perfect ninth inning while striking out two in an 8–4 loss.^[11] Three days later, Jackson made his first MLB start against the San Diego Padres. He pitched 6+1⁄3 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on 10 hits while walking one and striking out two in a no decision.^[12] Jackson filled a major void left by the injured Tomo Ohka, replacing him in the starting rotation. He appeared in eight games (seven starts) with Milwaukee, going 2–2 with a 5.40 ERA.^[13]

At the start of the 2007 season, Jackson was sent down to Triple-A Nashville to fine-tune his game, and he spent the entire year with the Sounds, finishing 11–10 with a 4.46 ERA in 29 games (28 starts).^[7] He finished among the Pacific Coast League leaders in innings pitched (169+2⁄3, second), starts (28, tied for second), and strikeouts (123, third).^[14]

Jackson began the 2008 season with Nashville, but was recalled to the majors on May 16.^[15] He appeared in two games with Milwaukee, posting a 4.91 ERA before being sent back to Nashville on May 27.^[13][16]

On July 7, 2008, Jackson was part of the deal that sent Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia to Milwaukee for left fielder Matt LaPorta, pitcher Rob Bryson, and Michael Brantley.^[17][18] Jackson was recalled in August 2008 to fill the starting pitcher spot vacated by Paul Byrd, who had been traded to the Boston Red Sox.^[19] He made nine starts with Cleveland to finish the season, going 2–3 with a 5.60 ERA.^[13] Jackson spent the majority of the 2009 season with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, posting a 4–8 record with a 6.05 ERA in 30 games (14 starts).^[7] With Cleveland, he recorded a 9.35 ERA in three games (one start) without recording a decision.^[13]

On January 9, 2010, Jackson was traded back to his first team, the Toronto Blue Jays, for a player to be named later.^[20] He spent the season with the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s, finishing 2–3 with a 5.64 ERA in 35 games (five starts).^[7]

Jackson signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on January 6, 2011.^[21] He pitched two seasons for their Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express.^[7]

On February 11, 2013, Jackson signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.^[13] He was converted to a reliever in the Royals system, and was 2–1 with 18 saves and a 1.38 ERA in 33 relief appearances with the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He also made two scoreless appearances with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers.^[7]

Jackson signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on January 17, 2014.^[22] He was released on July 27.^[23]

On July 20, 2015, Jackson announced his retirement from baseball.^{[citation needed]}

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet  · Baseball Almanac
• Minor League Splits and situational stats Archived August 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
• Zach Jackson Interview at BrewCrewBall.com