Red Sox infield prospect Blaze Jordan enjoyed a productive night at the plate in High-A Greenville’s extra-inning 6-5 loss to the Greensboro Grasshoppers at Fluor Field on Thursday.
Batting third and starting at first base for the Drive, Jordan went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, four RBIs, a run scored, and a strikeout. The right-handed hitter crushed his eighth homer of the season to open the scoring in the first inning and drove in pair with a two-run double in the third. He then plated his fourth and final run of the night with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fifth.
With two outs and a runner at third base representing the potential tying run in the 10th inning, Jordan had a chance to pull Greenville back even with Greensboro. But he struck out swinging on four pitches as the Drive fell to 33-27 on the season.
By recording two hits on Thursday, Jordan extended his hitting streak to six games. He is now batting .333/.429/.563 in the month of June. On the 2023 campaign as a whole, the 20-year-old slugger has slashed a stout .315/.368/.516 with 18 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 42 RBIs, 33 runs scored, one stolen base, 18 walks, and 36 strikeouts in 55 games (242 plate appearances) for the Drive.
Among the top hitters in the South Atlantic League, Jordan ranks second in total bases (113), third in extra-base hits (27), fourth in batting average, 19th in on-base percentage, eighth in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.884), 16th in isolated power (.201), and third in strikeout rate (14.9 percent), per MiLB.com’s leaderboards.
On the other side of the ball, Jordan made his 30th start of the season at first base on Thursday night. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder has also made 23 starts at third base. Between the two infield corners, he has committed three errors (all at third) in 257 total defensive chances.
Originally selected by the Red Sox in the third round (89th overall pick) in the 2020 amateur draft out of DeSoto Central High School (Miss.), Jordan is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 16 prospect in the organization. Despite being in his third full professional season, the Southaven native is still among the youngest position players to swing a bat at the High-A level this year. That is understandable since he reclassified back in 2019 in order to graduate from high school a year early.
Given how well he has performed lately, Jordan — who does not turn 23 until December — could soon be nearing a promotion to Double-A Portland. That may be contingent on things that are out of his control, but if Jordan continues to produce, the Red Sox will find a way to make it happen.
(Picture of Blaze Jordan: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)
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