Three former Polk County high school baseball players, including two brothers, and three local college players were selected this week in the annual Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
George Jenkins grad Jackson Ross was selected in the ninth round by the Washington Nationals, and younger brother Michael Ross was drafted in the 18th round by the Minnesota Twins. In between, Lakeland Christian’s Mack Estrada was taken in the 11th round by the New York Yankees.
Jackson is a 2018 graduate of George Jenkins and something of a late bloomer. A versatile player who played outstanding shortstop for George Jenkins, he batted .269, had a .457 on-base percentage and also proved to be a key pitcher. He went 4-1 with a 0.48 ERA and finished third in his class academically.
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“He's extremely intelligent, and that intelligence has helped him to be able to fix it if he was struggling,” said Lake Region coach Chad Crosby, who coached Jackson at George Jenkins. “So he really never went into a slump and then as a pitcher, he immediately figured out how to throw, not just a fastball for strike but how to throw the curveball or slider and how to throw a change up. He would have been anybody's No. 1 because he was that good, but he was so valuable as our shortstop.”
Crosby said Jackson had a strong work ethic in the weight room, a trait that carried into college.
Jackson could have gone to Florida on an academic scholarship, Crosby said, but instead began his career at Pasco Hernando State College and eventually played for three colleges. At Pasco-Hernando, he batted .346 in 84 games with 12 home runs, 90 RBIs and 88 runs scored. He then moved on to Florida Atlantic where he played in 2022 and 2023 and was a first-team selection in Conference USA.
With the extra year of eligibility because of COVID, Ross transferred to Ole Miss and batted .280 with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs as a third baseman.
“He was probably 5-11 and 170 pounds. He had really good hand-eye coordination and baseball skills, but he lacked the physicality. He was a late bloomer physically,” Pasco-Hernando coach Lyndon Coleman said. "He came to us and he put in the work every single day in the weight room and on the baseball field and he blossomed. When he left here, he was 6-1 or 6-2 and an absolutely chiseled 205 or 210 pounds.”
Michael Ross graduated in 2020 after his senior season ended early because of COVID. He had emerged as a top high school pitcher his junior year when he went 8-1.
A 6-foot-2 right-hander, Michael signed with Samford and, after limited action as a freshman, went 7-1 with a 3.77 ERA as a sophomore in 2022. He missed 2023 after having Tommy John surgery then bounced back this past season by going undefeated at 13-0 with a 3.27 ERA.
Decision time for Estrada: Yankees or FSU?
It wasn’t a total surprise that Estrada was drafted; five teams had expressed interest, but he wasn’t expecting the Yankees to come calling.
“It was surprising that there were five teams that were showing the most interest but the Yankees came out of nowhere," he said. "I was excited because the Yankees were the team I wanted to sign with.”
Estrada was a two-sports standout at Lakeland Christian and was The Ledger’s Small School football defensive player of the year as a senior in 2022. By then, he emerged as a top pitching prospect with the ability to throw in the mid-90s. After a stellar junior season, when he went 8-0 with a 1.91 ERA, he battled injuries in his senior season when he went 3-1 with a 4.83 ERA.
Although he originally signed with USF, he opted instead to go to Northwest Florida State College where, healthy and focusing on just pitching for the first time, he went 9-1 with a 4.20 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 79⅓ innings.
“I started prioritizing arm care and this was the first time that I really just focused on baseball only,” he said. “I've played multiple sports my whole life and I got in an environment where every single day I could just work and work, and there wasn't anything stopping me from that at all. So I succeeded in that, and I also at the school the connections and the publicity there to get in front of the right people.”
Estrada said he doesn’t regret playing football in high school.
“I wouldn't change that one bit,” he said. “If I were to do it all over again, I would do the same exact thing.”
Estrada has committed to Florida State, so now he has a decision to make by Aug. 1.
“It's still undecided right now, but I am very happy about the opportunity that I have right now,” he said.
Three local college players drafted
These three players from Polk colleges were drafted:
- Polk State pitcher Aiden Butler was taken in the ninth round by the Seattle Mariners. Butler is from Tallahassee and went 8-1 with a 3.34 ERA this past season.
- Southeastern pitcher Ramsey David was selected in the 10th round by the Houston Astros. David is from Georgia and went 6-2 with a 2.79 ERA.
- Southeastern pitcher Colby Martin was drafted in the 16th round by the Toronto Blue Jays. Martin is from Pennsylvania and went 1-0 with a 4.41 ERA in 17 relief appearances.
Palm Beach Post correspondent Patrick Yasinskas contributed to this report.
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