Fantasy Baseball Trade Deadline Fallout: White Sox Acquire Edwin Jackson

Eric Stashin

Jul 30, 2010

The Chicago White Sox have acquired Edwin Jackson from the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitchers Daniel Hudson & David Holmberg according to mlb.com (click here for the article).

The White Sox Get

While Jackson threw a no-hitter earlier in the season, he was a major disappointment in Arizona after being acquired in the offseason deal that sent Max Scherzer to Detroit. He suffered from some bad luck (.318 BABIP and 67.1 percent strand rate), but it was the control that was his biggest issue. It looked like he had turned a corner in ‘09 (2.9 BB/9), but that hasn’t held up. This season he has a 4.0 mark, equal to his career number.

Also, you would have hoped that he would have seen a bigger jump in strikeouts moving to the National League. He had a K/9 of 6.8 last season and 7.0 this year.

He has struggled significantly at home, with a 5.66 ERA over 70.0 innings (on the road his ERA is 4.62). Of the 13 HR he’s allowed, 10 have been at home. Clearly, getting out of Arizona will help, but Chicago may not be much of an improvement. In ‘09 he made two starts at U.S. Cellular Field, posting a 5.25 ERA over 12.0 innings.

Of course, this could simply be a prelude to another move, as the White Sox have been rumored to possibly be flipping Jackson to Washington in a trade for Adam Dunn.

The Diamondbacks Get

Hudson has not had much success in the Major Leagues (6.32 ERA and 1.79 WHIP over 15.2 innings in ‘10). However, at Triple-A this season he posted a 3.47 ERA with 108 Ks over 93.1 innings.

Prior to the season Baseball America ranked him as the White Sox third best prospect. At that time they said, “Hudson throws three solid pitches from a three-quarters arm slot with a crossfire delivery, a la Jered Weaver. His motion gives him natural deception, making his lively 91-93 mph fastball seem even quicker.”

He’s got talent and will get regular time in the rotation the rest of the year. In deeper formats he is worth taking a flier on. I wouldn’t consider him a must start option, but if the matchup is good he certainly could be used. For more on Hudson, check out my preseason look at him by clicking here .

Holmberg was ranked by Baseball America as the eighth best prospect for the White Sox. At the time, they said that the 2009 second round draft pick “has great secondary stuff and an advanced feel for changing speeds and locating pitches. Using a classic overhand delivery, he throws a 12-to-6 curveball with plus break and depth, and his changeup is nearly as good."

The 19-year-old lefty has a 4.46 ERA in the Rookie League and is still a few year’s away, though he does have promise.

Seems to me like a good return for the Diamondbacks, but what about you? What are your thoughts on the deal?

Make sure to check out our trade deadline analysis: