No. 10: Red Sox third base prospect Blaze Jordan
Blaze Jordan won over a lot of fans the second he was drafted thanks to his perfect “baseball” name and his penchant for hitting absurd nukes in High School. And in his first full season in the minors, Jordan did not disappoint.
The right-handed hitting third baseman slashed .289/.363/.445 with 30 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs between Low-A and High-A. He drove in 68 runs, scored 60 more, and stole five bases as well.
Let’s get something out of the way immediately, no you should not be worried about the low home run total. First of all, Jordan was 19. The power production he gave in Low-A and High-A as a teenager was impressive.
More importantly, though, 370 of his 463 at-bats in 2022 came in Low-A. And a majority of those Low-A at-bats came at Salem. That is the very definition of a non-home-run-friendly ballpark. Jordan was hitting plenty to the wall though, and that’s encouraging.
Give him time to grow and mature, and see a full season away from Salem. Those home run numbers will likely go up pretty significantly.
Meanwhile, the rest of his offensive game was impressive. He didn’t strike out much (94 in 521 plate appearances) and he showed off a decent eye (48 walks).
Jordan isn’t much of a speed threat, and his defense isn’t great. But he’s not miserable in either area. And he even showed off his ability to play first base, as well as third. That gives Jordan a little more flexibility in lineups.
Honestly, he looks better at first base defensively. But Jordan also has a good arm that works a whole lot better at third and would feel wasted at first.
The main attraction here is going to be the offense. So the fact that his first full season in the minors went so well should have fans excited. Jordan is a traditional power bat in all the best ways. But he looks like someone that could hit for average and limit the strikeouts as well. There is easy 30-homer potential in his bat. But a chance at some averages around .300 as well.
Blaze Jordan came into the Red Sox organization with pretty high expectations. Year one did not disappoint.
Hit: 65
Power: 70
Run: 40
Arm: 50
Field: 45
Overall: 55