Austin Jackson

During an appearance on WBBL-FM in Detroit on Wednesday, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski acknowledged that Austin Jackson is not an ideal leadoff man at this point of his career.

Jackson possesses excellent speed and athleticism, but he also has an ugly 351/103 K/BB ratio over his first two seasons in the big leagues. While Dombrowski would prefer an upgrade for the top of the lineup, he doesn’t have many alternatives at the moment. “You say, ‘Where does he play for you?’ You know he’s not going to play third base, because those guys aren’t out there at third base,” said Dombrowski. “So then he really has to fill in for somebody else. So then you say maybe we’re better off just giving Austin the opportunity, but we keep talking to people. Ideally, Austin’s not a leadoff hitter at this time of his career, although he could take the strides to do that this season.” Jackson still projects as the Tigers’ leadoff man right now, but Dombrowski made it clear that he is pursuing other options.

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that the Tigers’ No. 1 offseason priority is to find a leadoff hitter.

Crasnick writes that the Tigers “know Austin Jackson isn’t the answer in the No. 1 spot.” While certainly physically gifted and possessing ample upside, Jackson piles up strikeouts by the truckload and doesn’t draw too many walks, making him better suited to hit lower in the order. Crasnick says Jose Reyes is a “dream candidate” for the Tigers and also lists David DeJesus and Kelly Johnson as possibilities.