FAYETTEVILLE — The passport Arkansas pitcher Zach Jackson got for his high school senior trip to Mexico in 2013 is going to come in handy.
Jackson said he expects to begin his professional baseball career in Vancouver, Canada, after being picked by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft Friday.
The Vancouver Canadians are the Blue Jays' short season Class A minor league team.
"I assume I'll start in Vancouver," said Jackson, a junior right-hander from Berryville, Okla. "I've heard Vancouver is beautiful, so I'm looking forward to going up there."
Jackson, the No. 102 overall pick, said he's flying Monday morning to Florida to go over contract details with the Blue Jays.
"I'm planning to sign unless something happens I'm not expecting," he said. "Not that going back to Arkansas for my senior year would be a bad a thing, but the way things are looking right now, I think it's all going work out with the Blue Jays."
Jackson said that after he was drafted, his mother, Gina, went to the family's bank to retrieve his passport.
"It was going to close about 30 minutes after I got drafted, so my mom ran out to get my passport from a safe deposit box," Jackson said. "She didn't get to stay and celebrate with us, because I needed my passport before I leave Monday."
Jackson was among two current Razorbacks picked through the draft's first 10 rounds, along with Clark Eagan, a junior who played first base, third base and the outfield this season.
Eagan was a ninth-round selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 285 overall.
Cole Stobbe, an infielder from Omaha (Neb.) Millard High School who signed with the Razorbacks, was the first pick of the third round Friday and No. 78 overall by the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Minnesota Twins drafted Arkansas signee Ben Rortvedt, a catcher from Verona Area (Wis.) High School, in the second round Thursday night at No. 56 overall.
Rortvedt has a slotted signing bonus of $1.41 million, according to MLB.com. Stobbe's slgning bonus is slotted at $813,500.
Eagan started 55 games this season and hit .297 with 7 home runs and 37 RBI. His slotted signing bonus is $162,000.
Jackson's slotted signing bonus is $585,100.
"It may not be as much as some people were saying I'd get at the beginning of the season," Jackson said. "But at the end of the day, it's a lot more money than I've ever seen.
"It's something I'm not ever going to complain about."
Jackson came into the season projected as a possible first-round pick after going 5-1 with 9 saves and a 2.01 earned average as a sophomore. He had 89 strikeouts in 60 inning and held opponents to a .196 batting average to help Arkansas advance to the College World Series.
"Jackson's a big leaguer," Missouri State Coach Keith Guttin said after Jackson retired the final 11 batters in the Razorbacks' 3-2 NCAA super regional victory over the Bears to advance to the College World Series. "He's got a breaking ball that very few people on Earth can hit."
Jackson's curveball and a fastball in the mid-90s made him an attractive pick for major league teams despite his struggles this season when he went 3-4 with 4 saves and a 5.09 ERA.
In 53 innings, including five starts and 13 relief appearances, Jackson had 6 strikeouts but allowed 47 hits and 40 walks with 8 wild pitches and 6 hit batters.
Jackson's highlights this season included pitching a complete seven-inning game in a 2-0 victory at Kentucky. He no-hit Florida for five innings before the Gators broke through for five runs in the sixth and went on to a 9-2 victory.
"It was a disappointing season, especially because I feel like I had really good freshman and sophomore years," Jackson said. "I just couldn't seem to get the hang of everything.
"I'm totally healthy. I don't feel like my stuff ever changed....It was just a matter of control.
"That's kind of always been my burden, but hopefully getting into pro ball, we'll figure out how to straighten out my mechanics a little bit and get my control back where it has been at times....I want to become more consistent."
Jackson said he was excited to get a call from a Blue Jays scout telling him the team was going to draft him.
"Obviously, my numbers this year weren't third-round numbers, but I think I have a pretty good track record overall at Arkansas," Jackson said. "So I'm appreciative of the Toronto organization for having the faith in me. "Hopefully, I can pay them back."
Jackson said he's not sure whether the Blue Jays want to try him first as a starter or a reliever.
"I don't have a preference honestly," he said. "I've got a really open mind about what my role is going to be."
Jackson said he achieved his top three goals at Arkansas, which were to play on a College World Series team, play for Team USA and develop well enough to be drafted as a junior.
"Playing at Arkansas has been the best three years of my life without a doubt," he said. "I couldn't be more grateful.
"I hate to have to leave Arkansas, but this is just a great opportunity and something I've got to do."
Jackson said he may have put too much pressure on himself this season, not necessarily because he was draft-eligible but because he wanted to live up to high expectations and help the Razorbacks return to the College World Series.
"I love pressure in a game, but this was a different kind of pressure," he said. "It's just something that kind of weighs on you all the time....It's something I feel like I definitely didn't handle very well this year.
"I just appreciate the opportunity to be taken where I was, and hopefully all the pressure's kind of off now and I can just start playing again."