Giants prospect known as 'Baby Bo' making early mark with organization
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Anyone who had the privilege of seeing Bo Jackson at the height of his sports career knows what a marvel it was to watch the only man to claim a Heisman Trophy, MLB All-Star honors and be named to an NFL Pro Bowl. His talent was indisputably 1-of-1.
So to learn that the Giants have a 22-year-old prospect in their farm system, Dakota Jordan, with the nickname "Baby Bo" -- in honor of Jackson -- might raise some eyebrows ... unless you've seen him play.
"When you talk about Bo, you talk about things you've never seen before and when it comes to the power that Dakota has, man, it's not something that you see everyday," High-A Eugene Emeralds skipper Jacob Heyward said. "He's tooled out. He can do all the things on the field and makes it look with ease. It's pretty impressive to watch."
Jordan, a three-star wide receiver out of high school with aspirations to play two sports in college, was dubbed one of the best athletes in the 2022 prep class. He went undrafted and opted to stick to baseball during his two seasons at Mississippi State where his elite tools made him a fourth-round Draft selection of San Francisco in 2024, who signed for closer to a second-round selection's bonus at $1,997,500.
"That decision came with what I felt was the most comfortable for me," Jordan told MLB.com during Spring Training. "To me, baseball just came natural and when I'm on a baseball field, I just feel free and loose and it’s where my heart is."
And when it comes to the baseball field, Jordan's tools are hard to ignore. The 6-foot, 231-pound outfielder possesses plus-plus raw power as well as plus-plus speed (he can get from home to first in less than four seconds) and plus-fielding. All of his talents were on display during his first full pro season last year with Single-A San Jose. The former Bulldogs standout paced the California League with 14 home runs. He slashed .311/.377/.497 and posted a 135 wRC+. Despite only being limited to 88 games (416 plate appearances) because of a nagging oblique strain that cost him two extended stints on the injured list, Jordan still finished tied for the best average in the circuit and fell just one hit and one RBI (82) short of the triple crown.
The Giants' No. 6 prospect also didn't waste any time addressing the concerns that contributed to him slipping to the fourth round of the Draft. After posting an alarming 29% K-rate at Mississippi State in 2024, he lowered that to 22.8% last year. In two seasons at college, he swiped a total of seven bases. He went 27-of-31 (87 percent) in stolen base attempts in 2025.
"Standing taller and adjusting my body to the way it worked. Not trying to do too much was a big part," Jordan said of the adjustments he made in pro ball. "Trusting my instincts. Getting my confidence up. It was a lot of little adjustments that I made. I just want to keep growing from it."
He also spent the majority of his games at the corner outfield spots for the Bulldogs, but lined up in center exclusively for San Jose and posted a .984 fielding percentage while stacking highlight-reel plays over 84 games.
"I’ve been a center fielder my whole life. It was just college that I played on the corners," he said. "I feel like it's my natural position out there and that's where I want to be."
Jordan opened this season with the High-A Eugene Emeralds. Since April 8, he is slashing .311/.400/.544 with 11 extra-base hits and 49 total bases. Through 28 games this year, he is pacing the Northwest League with 25 RBIs and is tied for the most homers with six. He is also 5-for-6 in stolen base attempts and sports a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over 191 innings in center.
"Dakota loves the game. He can do everything. He leads by example. He plays hard and he's coachable. Some of the players today that are really good think they know everything and you can't talk to them," Heyward said. "Dakota is right in that perfect sweet spot where he's confident, he believes in himself and he still wants to put in the work to get better. There's nothing stopping him."
And when it comes to being referred to as 'Baby Bo,' Jordan is embracing the moniker.
"It's pretty cool to be compared to a great name for sure," Jordan said, after sharing that he met Jackson once in college and was amazed by the size of his forearms. "He's one of my idols who I looked up to and model my game after, and I think it shows and I just want to continue to grow and continue to lean towards his footsteps."