JUPITER, Fla. – Blaze Jordan has spent the past five years playing in Minor League ballparks, working hard to return to a big league stadium.
Yes, return.
No, Jordan has yet to advance beyond Triple-A since he made his professional debut in 2021 but in July 2019, a then-16-year-old Jordan put on a power display at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, winning the High School Home Run Derby during All-Star Week.
The batting gloves and plaque still hang on his wall in his Mississippi home, serving as a constant reminder of the night he experienced the thrill of hitting bombs in front of a packed Major League ballpark.
“I feel like it almost prepared me for pro ball to have all those eyes on me,” Jordan said. “It’s something to remember that day, which was an amazing experience.”
Jordan was selected by the Red Sox in the third round of the 2020 Draft, beginning his professional journey the following season in Rookie ball and Single-A. The corner infielder reached Double-A at the age of 20, cracking Boston’s Top 10 prospect list at No. 7 that year. He got his first taste of Triple-A last year at age 22, but after posting an .821 OPS in 44 games at Worcester, the Red Sox dealt him to the Cardinals at the Trade Deadline for left-hander Steven Matz.
“When I was having a really good year at Triple-A last year, I thought surely I would get a break at some point, but it didn't happen,” Jordan said. “You're like, ‘Am I ever going to get the chance?’ Everything happens for a reason.”
For Jordan, the trade to the Cardinals excited him on two fronts. First, his favorite player growing up was Albert Pujols, who homered three times in the first game Jordan ever attended, which also happened to be Game 3 of the 2011 World Series.
“That was kind of what kicked it off,” Jordan said. “To be able to play for the same team he did, it’s a dream.”
Second, Jordan had been drafted by Boston while Chaim Bloom was running the baseball operations department, and with Bloom taking over the Cardinals, the idea that the executive thought enough to bring him to St. Louis served as motivation.
“It makes you feel like you’re wanted,” Jordan said. “I know when everything clicks, I can contribute in the big leagues for a really long time; I really, truly believe that. For someone to believe in me like that and go out and get me, it feels pretty special.”
“I'm glad he feels that way; I want every one of our players to feel that way,” Bloom said. “More than ever, this is a game where you write off anybody at your peril. Guys are finding all sorts of different ways at different points in their careers to become things that people may not think they can become.”
Perhaps it was lazy profiling to some extent, but Jordan was tagged early as a power threat with huge holes in his swing. His 14.2% career strikeout rate – nearly 10% lower than the Minor League average – would suggest otherwise, but now he’s trying to combine those contact skills with his power to get to the next level.
“For somebody with that kind of power, there is real feel for the barrel, and he's shown that throughout his career,” Bloom said. “Unlike a lot of guys who have that juice, he can put the ball in play. What we're working on with him is being able to drive the baseball consistently. … The ability to have that contact that comes along with the power is a potential separator for him.”
Jordan had never been invited to big league camp during his years with Boston, making this spring a new experience for the 23-year-old. Although Jordan is likely to open the season at Triple-A, Bloom believes that being in a big league atmosphere this spring can only benefit Jordan on and off the field.
“Just being around guys who have crossed that threshold, who have experienced what that is and then had to make adjustments around it, I think it's a positive,” Bloom said. “He's still relatively new to our organization. … The more you can make some comfortable, make them feel like a part of it, I think that gives you a better chance at accessing the upside that they have.”
“I’ve been listening to these guys talk about how special it is playing at Busch Stadium, so I’m really striving to get there,” Jordan said. “I’m just trying to take care of the things I need to take care of to get there, so I’m putting in a lot of work. I’ll keep grinding.”