Cubs prospect Brett Jackson headed to the Arizona Fall League last week after being limited by a right ankle injury while playing for Team USA in the Pan American Games qualifying tournament, but now the 2009 first-round pick has been hospitalized with a bacterial infection in the same leg.
He appeared in just four games for the Mesa Solar Sox before being shut down with what Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports is “cellulitis with an abscess in his shin, which is similar to a staph infection.” He’s expected to be released from the hospital today, but won’t return to the AFL.
Jackson, who played in the Futures Games at Angels Stadium during the All-Star break, hit .297 with a .395 on-base percentage and .493 slugging percentage in 128 games split between high Single-A and Double-A this season, smacking 58 extra-base hits, stealing 30 bases, and drawing 73 walks at age 21. He’s among the top center field prospects in baseball.