Cleveland Indians: Austin Jackson hits a home run in spring debut

Austin Jackson is fighting for a spot in the Cleveland Indians’ outfield, and he finally made his 2017 debut on Thursday in Arizona.

The 2017 Cleveland Indians don’t have much space on the 25-man roster, but don’t tell that to Austin Jackson.

With Michael Brantley‘s health in question, Jackson could earn that final spot in the outfield while Brantley is out. He could even earn a spot if Brantley is healthy, depending on how he and Abraham Almonte play this spring.

Jackson finally made his debut today, and started things off with some power.

Jackson is not known for his power, but a few more of those in spring training and it may be hard to start the season without him as one of the options in the outfield. He has proved to be a decent player throughout his career, and the only reason he is fighting for a job is because he missed most of last year with an injury.

But he could certainly come in and be Tyler Naquin‘s backup, or even help in the corner outfield spots. The Indians already have five outfielders under contract, but they are going to want the most talented players available on the team to begin the year. And if Jackson proves he is back to his old self, there is no reason why he can’t win one of those spots.

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One home run is nothing to overreact about, so it will be interesting to see how he plays as the month continues on. Even if he can’t win a spot in Cleveland, he could do well enough to earn a job elsewhere.