Red Sox’ Blaze Jordan named Eastern League Player of the Week

Red Sox corner infield prospect Blaze Jordan has been named the Eastern League Player of the Week for the week of May 19-25, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

Jordan appeared in all seven of Double-A Portland’s games against the Reading Fightin Phils at Hadlock Field this past week. The 22-year-old went 10-for-23 (.435) with one double, two home runs, eight RBIs, four runs scored, two stolen bases, two walks, and three strikeouts. He singled and scored a run on Tuesday, homered in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader, recorded two hits on Thursday, went deep again and drove in four runs as part of a three-hit effort on Friday, doubled on Saturday, and had two more hits in Sunday’s series finale.

Now the owner of a 12-game on-base streak, Jordan is putting together a strong season at the plate with Portland after initially getting off to a slow start. Through 39 games for the Sea Dogs this year, the right-handed hitter is batting .306/.401/.485 with nine doubles, five home runs, a team-leading 30 RBIs, 25 runs scored, three stolen bases, 19 walks, and 17 strikeouts over 157 plate appearances.

Among qualified hitters in the Eastern League, Jordan ranks third in strikeout rate (10.8 percent), fourth in on-base percentage, fifth in wOBA (.406), sixth in OPS (.886), seventh in batting average and wRC+ (156), 11th in slugging percentage, 15th in line-drive rate (27.2 percent), 21st in walk rate (12.1 percent) and swinging-strike rate (8.6 percent), and 22nd in isolated power (.179), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, it should come as no surprise that Jordan has split his playing time on the field this season between the infield corners. The 6-foot, 220-pounder has made 26 starts (226 2/3 innings) at first base and 11 starts (91 innings) at third base for the Sea Dogs and has yet to commit an error at either spot. He has also made two starts at DH.

Jordan is not currently regarded among Boston’s top 30 prospects by publications such as Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, though SoxProspects.com has him ranked 38th. The Southaven, Miss. native was originally selected by the Red Sox in the third round (89th overall) of the COVID-shortened 2020 draft out of DeSoto Central High School and forwent his commitment to Mississippi State by signing for an over-slot $1.75 million. He has experienced plenty of ups and downs (both on and off the field) to this point in his professional career, but is now producing at a rate he hadn’t been able to since first reaching the Double-A level nearly two years ago.

Having said that, Jordan — with 177 career games at Portland under his belt already — could very well be in line for a promotion to Triple-A Worcester before long. Such a move would present Jordan, who does not turn 23 until December, with a new challenge and provide the WooSox with additional corner infield depth. It could also add a layer to Jordan’s future with the organization.

Would the Red Sox consider trading Jordan if he lights it up at Triple-A like fellow 2020 draftee Nick Yorke did last year? Would they consider adding him to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from potentially being taken by other teams in this winter’s Rule 5 Draft?

These are questions that do not require immediate answers since they are contingent on Jordan being promoted to Worcester. Until that happens, and there is no guarantee it will, it should be worthwhile to see if he can continue to build on what has so far been an encouraging season.