Blaze Jordan wants to 'take that next step' in second half; Can tell 'huge difference' with defensive game
Blaze Jordan might be the best definition of a “slept on” prospect in the Red Sox organization simply due to the team he is currently on.
Jordan has hit the ball quite well at every level he has played at since being drafted in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft by Boston. He carries a .293/.328/.440 slash line over four seasons in the Red Sox system. That includes a 2024 season carrying a .277/.328/.440 while also landing on the IL for a month.
“This year has been very good with my development.” Jordan said of his 2024 season. “My chase rate was super high at the beginning of the year, but I had met with the coaches here and development staff with a plan going forward. I dropped it about 10% over the past couple of weeks ever since I had gotten back from my injury. I used that time during the injury to do pitch recognition and standing in during bullpens. They send us these videos to help with pitch recognition, so I used that time to just get better. It was tough watching all of my guys be out there and not be able to be out there with them. I am glad I got to use the time how I did and luckily it was only a month long.”
Jordan missed a month after fracturing a finger on a play at the plate. It truly was an unfortunate way to get injured after swinging a hot bat heading into the game when he got hurt.
“It was a thought in my mind because I thought I was just finally finding my ground.” Jordan said of his injury being bad timing. “I started off really slow and I started getting on a streak right when the injury happened. It is all part of the process, and it was just a freak accident that I could not control. It was one of those things that you couldn’t let affect you and I did a good job of still developing while I was down. I did a good job putting myself in a spot for when I came back off the injured list.”
This past offseason, Jordan dropped some weight in an effort to be able to be more athletic and make more of the plays at third base. His effort has succeeded so far as the defensive numbers are all the proof you would need.
“It has been 100 times better.” Jordan said of his defense this year. “I can tell a huge difference at third base and first base. My defensive numbers have been much better this year with my range and conversion. I am getting to balls this year that I wasn’t able to get to last year. I feel like I am able to be better at first base being more flexible so I help my guys a little bit which is what I am supposed to do at first. At third base, being able to convert on balls to my side and forward is a huge improvement. It’s helped me a lot with baserunning and being more athletic in the box and getting out of the box quicker after I make contact.”
Like it was mentioned earlier on, Jordan shares the Portland lineup with Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel, Marcelo Mayer, and now Kristian Campbell. It would be tough for just about anyone else to keep up with those four with the seasons they are all having. Jordan is doing his best and putting up a great effort.
“I feel like we all feed off of each other in the lineup.” Jordan said. “They are always on base for me so anytime I come up, I am always in a good spot to hit. I am able to watch their at-bats and learn from them and see how they go about their at-bats. They are very good at coming back to the dugout and telling me what the pitcher has and what he was throwing them. It has really helped me a lot to have all of these guys around me 1-9 in the lineup.”
The second half of the season is officially underway with the MLB All Star break next week. What does Jordan want to accomplish the rest of the way?
“I just want to take that next step as being a complete overall hitter.” Jordan said. “I want to start walking more and if I can get that walk rate up, I feel like I can get more pitches to hit as long as I am not chasing as much. That leads to more power numbers at the end of the day. Just being a more complete hitter that way is going to help me in every single aspect. I want to keep going on defense doing all of my footwork and side-to-side stuff. I just want to be able to impact the game as much as I can between being in scoring position for my guys or being the best defensive player I can be on the field for my pitchers.”
