Showing His Stuff : Major League Scouts Flock to Verbum Dei for a Look at Versatile Pitcher Dion Jackson

Verbum Dei pitcher Dion Jackson stared down at the batter, shooting him a pained expression reminiscent of the one Oakland A’s reliever Dennis Eckersley uses to intimidate opponents.

But the senior right-hander was not trying to intimidate the batter. The pained look was one of anguish, the result of an abscessed tooth.

Though he gave up no earned runs, Jackson clearly was not in command of his pitching as the Eagles lost, 13-5, April 20 against Mary Star of the Sea in San Pedro. Jackson, who pitched all seven innings, struck out nine, walked one and gave up five hits, but the Eagles made nine errors to account for the 13 unearned runs. The next day, he had surgery to remove the tooth.

But even with the abscessed tooth and the sub-par pitching performance, Jackson managed to impress the four major league scouts in attendance who were charting his pitches in advance of the June Major League Amateur Draft.

“From what I’ve seen he is a major league prospect,” said Pittsburgh Pirates scout Fate Young, who watched Jackson pitch last week. “He runs good, throws good and he swings the bat good. He has the size and talent to be anything he wants.”

Verbum Dei Coach Pete Morado said about 10 major league scouts have come out to point the speed gun in Jackson’s direction, timing his best fastballs and clocking his speed from home to first base.

Although the interest among scouts is clear, most are keeping a tight lid on their field reports until they complete their evaluations.

“I’ve seen Dion Jackson pitch,” Los Angeles Dodger area scout Bob Darwin said. “But if you want more information, you will have to speak with the Major League Scouting Bureau.”

The Major League Scouting Bureau was similarly tight-lipped. Director Donald Pries said he could not comment about any prospects.

But Jackson’s performance speaks for itself. In seven appearances, he has a 5-2 record with a 0.98 earned-run average. He pitched Friday night against Salesian at Veterans Stadium in Commerce.

According to one major league scouting director, Jackson is expected to be selected in the lower rounds of the draft. Ironically, the fact that Jackson has the grades to attend college and the potential to play another sport work against him.

Jackson is an anomaly at Verbum Dei. Over the years, the Eagles have regularly produced outstanding basketball players, such as former UCLA stars David Greenwood, Kenny Fields, Roy Hamilton and Cliff Pruitt.

Although Jackson was one of the stars of the basketball Eagles’ Southern Section Division IV-A finalist teams, he plans to pursue a baseball career after high school. Jackson averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game as a forward, but missed more than half of the team’s games for disciplinary reasons.

Verbum Dei athletic director and basketball coach Mike Kearney believes Jackson could have been a Division I basketball prospect, but did not fulfill his potential on the court.

“Talent-wise, he is probably the best player I’ve had since I came here five years ago,” Kearney said.

But Jackson sees more of a future in his first love, baseball.

“Most of my friends grew up playing basketball and wanting to play pro basketball, but I love baseball more,” he said.

Three days after Verbum Dei’s basketball season ended with a first-round State Division IV playoff loss to Bakersfield Garces, Jackson found himself on the mound. He struck out 10 batters as Verbum Dei beat Cathedral, 4-1, in the Santa Fe League opener.

Eleven days later, Jackson pitched a no-hitter against then first-place league rival Mary Star. “I practice baseball year-round, so making the transition (from basketball) wasn’t that tough,” he said.

Jackson received basketball recruiting letters as a junior, but was not offered a scholarship. With a 3.25 grade-point average and a 980 Scholastic Aptitude Test score, he still hopes to receive a baseball scholarship to a Division I school, preferably USC, UC Santa Barbara or UC Irvine.

But Morado thinks Jackson has a good chance to be drafted and compared him to former Eagles James McDonald and Calvin Jones, who now pitches for the Colorado Rockies. McDonald, a pitcher and first baseman, was a first-round pick of the New York Yankees in 1975 and Jones was the first-round pick overall in the 1984 draft by the Seattle Mariners.

“In terms of pitching, he does not throw as hard as Calvin,” Morado said. “But he has more . . . composure and better control. He is more like McDonald because he is also an outstanding hitter.”

Jackson also would not mind leaving South-Central Los Angeles, even if it means playing rookie ball in Butte, Mont., Johnson City, Tenn., or Erie, Pa.

“I think I would be able to adjust to moving to a smaller town,” Jackson said. “It would be hard leaving my family, but I would be able to get away from the crime in the inner city. Some places here you can’t even walk to with certain colors on.”