Tag Archives: Blaze Jordan

21 Sep

reaping rewards

Blaze Jordan finished the 2023 season in the Double-A Eastern League, but the former DeSoto Central High masher left his mark in the High-Class A South Atlantic League. Jordan was named the third baseman on milb.com’s SAL All-Star team. Rated the No. 12 prospect in Boston’s organization, Jordan hit .324 (.533 slug) with 12 homers and 55 RBIs in 73 games for High-A Greenville, helping the Drive win a first-half division title before his promotion to Double-A Portland on July 14. The Drive won the league championship on Tuesday. Jordan, at age 20 the youngest player on Portland’s roster, batted .254 with six homers and 31 RBIs for the Sea Dogs. A Portland teammate recently said this about Jordan in an milb.com piece: “He’s one of those guys that will roll out of bed and just hit .300, just rake, his first swing of the day is just a backside missile at 107 mph. It’s unbelievable.” A 6 feet 2, 220 pounds, power is Jordan’s best tool; he has 36 homers in 270 pro games. P.S. A couple more Mississippians got to celebrate minor league championships on Wednesday. Decatur native and ex-Ole Miss standout Kemp Alderman helped Jupiter, a Miami affiliate, win the Low-A Florida State League pennant, beating Clearwater 7-4 in the deciding game. Alderman, a second-round draftee this year and the Marlins’ No. 9 prospect, batted .313 in the playoffs and .205 with a homer and 15 RBIs for the season. He went 0-for-2 with three walks, a run and an RBI in Wednesday’s game. Mississippi State alum Christian MacLeod, a third-year pro, partied with the Cedar Rapids Kernels after the Minnesota affiliate won the High-A Midwest League title. MacLeod, a lefty, went 5-2 with a 4.13 ERA this season. … MSU product Jacob Robson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs as Kansas City beat Chicago 7-6 on Wednesday to claim the independent American Association’s Wolff Cup. Robson hit .250 with 10 homers and 31 RBIs for the Monarchs this season and hit three bombs in the postseason. Ex-MSU standout Gavin Collins, who didn’t play in the clincher, batted .314 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs for KC. The Monarchs’ first-base coach is Greenville native and former MLB All-Star Frank White.

10 Aug

coming attraction

Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, S.C., is modeled after Boston’s Fenway Park, where the players on the roster of the High-Class A Greenville Drive aspire to play someday. Blaze Jordan made his Drive debut at Fluor Field on Tuesday, and Red Sox fans should be excited that the club’s No. 6 prospect looked very much at home. The 19-year-old former DeSoto Central High standout went 3-for-4 with two home runs, one over the mini-Green Monster in left field, the other to left-center. “I think it’s safe to say he likes hitting in this ballpark,” one of Greenville’s radio broadcasters said. Jordan, a third-round pick in 2020, hit .286 with eight homers and 57 RBIs at Low-A Salem this season before his promotion. Considered one of the top power hitters in the Red Sox’s system — “Jordan’s massive power has been good as advertised,” according to MLB Pipeline — he has 16 homers in 124 pro games. There will be more. … There was a lot of player movement in the minors on Tuesday. To wit: Mississippi State product Rowdey Jordan moved up to Double-A Binghamton in the New York Mets’ system and went 1-for-4 in his debut. Ex-Ole Miss star Will Ethridge was promoted to Double-A Hartford in the Colorado chain and worked four scoreless innings in his first appearance. Brandon Parker, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College alum from Saucier, was bumped up to High-A Rome by Atlanta; he hit .282 with 10 homers at Low-A Augusta. MSU product Logan Tanner, drafted in the second round by Cincinnati last month, was assigned to Low-A Daytona after one game in rookie ball; he went 0-for-3 in his Daytona debut. Several other 2022 draftees have been assigned to rookie clubs, including former Ole Miss star Tim Elko (0-for-3 in his Arizona Complex League debut for the Chicago White Sox) and high school draftees Emaarion Boyd (Philadelphia) and Spence Coffman (San Diego). The Double-A Mississippi Braves saw two key players moved to Triple-A Gwinnett: right-hander Darius Vines and catcher Hendrik Clementina. P.S. The injury-riddled White Sox have lost East Central CC alum Tim Anderson, their All-Star shortstop and leadoff batter, for 4-6 weeks with a finger ligament tear. It’s his second stint on the IL. The White Sox lost Ocean Springs native Garrett Crochet (for the year) and ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn (for two months) in spring training. Lynn has been shaky (2-5, 5.88 ERA) since returning. … Shohei Ohtani joined Babe Ruth as the only players in MLB history to win at least 10 games and hit at least 10 homers in the same season. Two other players have won 10 and hit 10 in different seasons: Rick Ankiel and Jackson native Ewell Albert “Reb” Russell. Russell, a left-hander, won 23 games for the 1913 White Sox and posted three other double-digit win seasons before hurting his arm in 1918. He spent some time in the minors, came back to the big leagues in 1922 with Pittsburgh and belted 12 homers in 60 games.

25 Jan

looking ahead

There is perhaps no Mississippian in the minors who’ll be more compelling to watch in 2022 than Blaze Jordan. The 19-year-old Southaven native, who just completed his first season of pro ball in 2021, is one of the top prospects in Boston’s Winter Warm-Up program, underway this week in Fort Myers, Fla. A power-hitting prodigy, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Jordan was drafted in 2020 out of DeSoto Central High and debuted last summer, batting .324 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 28 games between the rookie Florida Complex League and Low-A Salem. The Red Sox were pleased with Jordan’s adjustment to the pro life. “It’s a lot to handle for a young player, and I think Blaze showed the ability to do all those things,” Red Sox farm director Brian Abraham told Boston-based eagletribune.com. Jordan, the Red Sox’s No 9 prospect per mlb.com, played mostly third base in 2021 but also saw time at first. The club reportedly wants him to continue to get fitter and faster. He’ll likely stay in A-ball this season. P.S. Curious to see how much support Jonathan Papelbon gets in the Hall of Fame voting, which will be revealed today. The Mississippi State alum, eligible for the first time, has 368 saves, a 2.44 ERA, six All-Star Game nods and a World Series ring. But it’s a very crowded and complicated ballot. … How would Deion Sanders’ career have played out had he devoted all of his time and energy to baseball? It would have been fun to see. Ex-MSU star Buck Showalter managed Sanders in the minors and told mlb.com’s Mike Lupica that Sanders had “a level of speed unlike I ever saw on a ballfield.” Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member and currently Jackson State’s football coach, batted .263 with 39 homers, 186 stolen bases and 43 triples in nine years (641 games) in the majors, rarely playing regularly. He “could impact a game in so many different ways, people would’ve lost count,” said Showalter, the veteran big league skipper recently hired by the New York Mets.

20 Aug

put it on the board

In his long-awaited debut for the Salem Red Sox on Thursday night, Blaze Jordan hit a home run. Very appropriate. The slugger from Southaven, whose long-ball exploits as a kid have been well-chronicled (see previous posts), hit one out in the ninth inning at Lynchburg for his first hit with Boston’s Low-A club. Jordan, 18, was promoted from the rookie Florida Complex League two weeks ago but had not played before Thursday, when he hit fifth as the Salem DH. Jordan batted .362 with four homers in 19 games for the FCL Red Sox this season in his pro debut. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Jordan, a third baseman in high school, was a third-round pick in 2020 (after reclassifying at DeSoto Central to be eligible for that draft) and is currently rated Boston’s No. 9 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The scouting report on mlb.com touts Jordan’s “impressive bat speed and strength that allow him to hit tape-measure shots without a lot of loft in his right-handed swing.”

04 Aug

watch for it

After showing out in the rookie Florida Complex League, ex-DeSoto Central High standout Blaze Jordan will get to test his skills at Low-A Salem, possibly as soon as tonight. Boston promoted the 2020 third-round draft pick on Tuesday. The 18-year-old third baseman hit .362 with four homers and 19 RBIs in the FCL. Long known for his prodigious power, Jordan, 6 feet 2, 220 pounds, reportedly is fitter and quicker than he was in his prep days, though he is still expected to shift to first base at some stage. Concerns about his contact ability didn’t surface in the FCL, where he struck out just 13 times in 69 at-bats. Salem hosts Lynchburg tonight at Haley Toyota Field in Virginia in a Low-A East game.

28 Jun

home run tracker

Flashing the power he displayed at Oxford High and Ole Miss, Thomas Dillard hit a pair of home runs in a game for High-A Wisconsin on Sunday. One of the bombs was a reported 438-footer. Dillard enjoyed a 3-for-6 day with five RBIs in a twinbill sweep by the Timber Rattlers, a Milwaukee farm team. Dillard is batting .240 (.420 slugging) with five homers and 37 RBIs in his second pro season. The switch-hitting catcher/first baseman, Milwaukee’s No. 22 prospect, was a fifth-round pick in 2019. He hit seven homers that summer and spent 2020 at the Brewers’ alternate site. … Joe Gray Jr., another Brewers prospect, hit his 11th homer on Sunday at Low-A Carolina. That total leads the Low-A East and is tied (with Brent Rooker in Triple-A) for the most by Mississippian in the minors. Former Hattiesburg High star Gray, in his third pro season, is batting .308 with 49 RBIs, bidding for a promotion to the Wisconsin team. Two more Mississippi-connected prospects went deep in the minors Sunday: Former Itawamba Community College and Houlka High star Tyreque Reed smacked his ninth homer for High-A Greenville in Boston’s system, and Ole Miss product Tyler Keenan, a 2020 draftee, hit No. 4 for High-A Everett in Seattle’s system. And something to watch for today: Blaze Jordan, the storied slugger from DeSoto Central, is expected to make his pro debut for Boston’s Florida Complex League team. Jordan famously hit two 500-foot homers in a showcase event at age 13 and won the high school home run competition at the 2019 MLB All-Star Game.

08 Jul

have a blast

Ronald Acuna, the former Mississippi Braves star, won’t be the only Mississippi-connected player vying for a Home Run Derby crown tonight in Cleveland. DeSoto Central High’s Blaze Jordan is in the final of the High School Home Run Derby, which is slated to be held between rounds 1 and 2 of the big league event at Progressive Field. Jordan hit 20 homers in Sunday’s competition to advance to the final against A.J. Vukovich from Wisconsin. Jordan, a Mississippi State commit, has reclassified to be eligible for the 2020 MLB draft and is expected to go high. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound corner infielder hit 10 homers in 37 games for DeSoto as a sophomore this season. He gained a measure of fame as a 14-year-old 8th-grader when he belted a 504-foot homer to win a national contest at Marlins Park in Miami. … For the record, Ole Miss’ Tyler Keenan finished second in the College Home Run Derby at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., on June 29. Keenan led the Rebels with 15 homers in 2019. … Acuna, who has 21 homers this year and 47 all told in his two MLB campaigns, famously homered in his first at-bat for the M-Braves in 2017. He faces Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell in tonight’s first round. … An mlb.com article rated Bobby Abreu’s victory in the 2005 Home Run Derby as the No. 9 “best moment” in Derby history, which dates to 1985 (when Mississippi native Dave Parker won the inaugural event). Former Jackson Generals star Abreu, who was with Philadelphia at the time, blasted 41 bombs to win the ’05 Derby at Detroit’s Comerica Park. He hit 288 career home runs over 18 MLB seasons. P.S. Current M-Braves star Drew Waters, who somehow didn’t make the roster for the All-Star Futures Game that was played in Cleveland on Sunday night, put on a show at Trustmark Park in Pearl with his fourth four-hit game of the season in a 10-1 win against Biloxi. Waters, 20, a switch-hitting outfielder, is batting .335 with five homers, 31 RBIs, 53 runs, 29 doubles and nine triples.

07 Nov

precocious talent

Blaze Jordan, the phenom from Southaven, is the centerpiece in a Baseball America story (posted today on the magazine’s web site) about the issue of early – or, more precisely, very early — commitments in the college game. It’s a good read. Jordan is a freshman at DeSoto Central High. He committed to Mississippi State as an 8th-grader. Jordan reportedly has prodigious power, having won a national home run contest in January – at age 14 — with a 504-foot blast at Marlins Park in Miami. He hit two homers in 13 games for the DeSoto varsity last season. He also impressed coaches and scouts during last month’s Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association World Championships in Florida. Jordan’s coach at the event compared him to Mookie Betts, Boston’s star right fielder. Keep in mind, the 6-foot, 215-pound first baseman is in the recruiting – and pro draft – class of 2021. … Also quoted in the BA piece are Hattiesburg High senior Joe Gray, another highly recruited player who committed to Ole Miss last January, and Rebels coach Mike Bianco.