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Physical Description: Thick,
physically mature frame. Minimal remaining projection. Will have
to watch his body as he gets older, but did a great job of
transforming his body during the 2024 offseason, showing up to
camp 20 pounds lighter and more agile.
Hit:
Starts square and utilizes a quick leg kick timing device. Has
bat speed. Takes a second to get going, but has quick hands and
really whips his hips through during his swing. Natural feel for
hit and will make pitchers pay when they make a mistake.
Approach is a work in progress. Very aggressive early in counts
and chases too often. Has had trouble making contact against
better pitching and against velocity, especially up in the zone.
Will always have swing-and-miss in his game. Has struggled with
velocity in the mid-90s and higher. Will make contact, but
struggles to impact the ball against that type of velocity.
Potential below-average hit tool.
Power:
Plus-to-better raw power. Raw power does not have much
projection, as he is already maxed out physically. Natural loft
in swing. Produces very high max exit velocities for his age.
Drives the ball with backspin. Has shown all-fields power and
the ability to drive the ball well out of the ballpark.
Above-average in-game power potential.
Run:
Well below-average speed. Projects to get slower as he matures.
Field: Has split time defensively between
third base and first base, and likely will end up at first. Is
not a natural defender at third. Lacks fluidity in the field,
footwork needs work. Below-average range. Hands work much better
at first base than third. Shows confidence picking balls in the
dirt and lack of range is not as much of an issue there. Body
transformation in 2024 improved defensive outlook at third to
the point where he might be able to play it in a pinch now, but
still far better suited to first base. Potential above-average
defender at first base and below-average defender at third.
Arm: Above-average arm strength. Has the
arm strength needed for third base. Hit 92 mph on the mound in
high school. |
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Career Notes: Was well-known from a young age
thanks to viral YouTube videos showing his power, such as one
with nearly 1.5 million views in which he hit an alleged
500-foot home run at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas at age
13. As a result, is still fairly well-known nationally and gets
a number of endorsement deals. Won the High School Home Run
Derby at the 2019 MLB All-Star Game. Recorded the highest exit
velocity of any player at the 2019 World Wood Bat Championships
(106.9 mph). Attended the same high school as Atlanta Braves
third baseman Austin Riley. Reclassified from the 2021 draft
class to the 2020 class and was therefore very young for his
draft class. Was committed to Mississippi State before signing.
Participated in the 2020 Fall Instructional League. After being
promoted from the FCL to Low-A Salem in August 2021, missed
roughly four of the season’s final five weeks for undisclosed
reasons, but in the fall of 2023, Jordan revealed he had been
dealing with severe anxiety and depression that required a
hospital stay for 4 to 5 days when he was unable to keep food
down, leading to his losing 25 pounds. Participated in the 2021
Fall Performance Program. Participated in the 2022 Winter
Warm-Up. Was set to participate in the 2022 Fall Performance
Program that was canceled due to Hurricane Ian. After coming
forward about his struggles with anxiety entering the 2023-24
offseason, worked to get himself into impressive shape entering
the 2024 season.
Summation: Potential
up-and-down bench bat. Ceiling of a bat-first, second division
regular, likely at first base. Really has to hit, as he is maxed
out and has a tough profile as a potential right-right first
baseman. A favorite of predictive models due to his age compared
to his draft class, elite exit velocities, and bat speed. Needs
to show he can hit advanced pitching in order to tap into his
raw power, which is his best tool. Will have to watch his
conditioning but took a significant step forward in that regard
entering 2024. Ultimate defensive position is likely first base,
but has a better chance to be able to play at least part-time at
third base now than when he signed.
Links
Red Sox select Blaze Jordan with third-round pick (6.11.2020)
Scout Chatter (11.24.2020)
Scout Chatter (8.26.2021)
Countdown to Spring Training (3.6.2023) |
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