2012 Chicago Cubs: Putting Brett Jackson's Strikeouts in Perspective

In just 28 at-bats this season, the 24-year-old Jackson has struck out an eye-popping 16 times in eight games. To anyone that's followed his minor league career, it's hardly shocking that he's swinging and missing at an alarming rate.

In 211 at-bats (53 games) in 2009, between Rookie Ball and Single-A, Jackson struck out 56 times...and it's gotten progressively worse. 

The next season, Jackson struck out 126 times in 128 games between High-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. One year later in 2011, 138 Ks in 115 games in Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa.

Last season, the numbers reached a new record for futility—158 Ks in just 106 games at Triple-A.

It should come as no surprise that the trend has continued at the major league level, but how historic is his strikeout rate? This season, it took Alfonso Soriano 64 at-bats to strike out 16 times. Ian Stewart? 67 at-bats. 

Other hitters on his own team dwarf his strikeout numbers—Anthony Rizzo went 121 at-bats before striking out for the 16th time, and 2B Darwin Barney did not reach strikeout number 16 until his 143rd at-bat in 2012.

Even in his worst year as a pro, it took Adam Dunn 36 at-bats last year to reach Jackson's current K total.

When Mark Reynolds set the ALL-TIME SINGLE SEASON RECORD for strikeouts in a season (2009), it still took him 45 at-bats to reach B-Jax's current total.

While it seems unlikely that after four seasons, Jackson's approach at the plate will ever change, the question has to be asked...at what point do Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein give up on the 2009 first-rounder?