The St. Louis Cardinals have a prospect in Triple-A who looks primed to make an impact this season–and his name is Blaze Jordan.
Blaze Jordan Looks MLB Ready
Jordan, 23, was acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for Steven Matz. The former high school prodigy was known for his prodigious power, even in his teen years.
He garnered quite a bit of fame when, at a showcase, he launched multiple baseballs well over 450ft, including two that went 500+ feet.
Now, his power has translated to professional baseball. You’d think that for someone as obviously talented as Jordan, he would’ve needed to struggle for a delayed debut. In that case, you’d be wrong.
In his minor league career, which spans over 530 games, Jordan has an .807 OPS, 71 home runs, and a .462 slugging percentage. He’s been as consistent as he’s been impactful at multiple levels.
This season, he’s really putting it all together.
Through the right-hander’s first 49 games, he has an OPS of .935, nine home runs, and is hitting .32. He’s displaying good barrel control, hitterish tendencies, and the always relevant power tool. Recently, Jordan recorded a five-hit game and was named the Memphis Cardinals’ SoFi player of the month. He slashed .350/.414/.540 over the last month.
Some fans are demanding a call-up.
MLB Reacts to Jordan’s Great Start
Memphis Redbirds: “Blaze Jordan is your May @SoFi Player of the Month. Take a look at his five-hit game from this past series! .350 AVG, .414 OBP, .540 SLG, .954 OPS. That’s a month to remember.
Kyle Reis: “Blaze Jordan doubles but it’s called a triple down the first base line, driving in Lars Nootbaar as the tying run in the bottom of the 8th. It should be his league-tying 18th double, but it goes as a triple?”
STL Sports Central: “Should the #STLCards call up Blaze Jordan? The 23-year-old is slashing .329/.389/.572 (.961 OPS) in AAA Memphis. @bschaeffer12 weighs in.”
Kareem Haq: “Blaze Jordan tallied his first career five-hit game tonight. He’s now slashing .332/.389/.560 in 48 games with Triple-A Memphis this season.”
Just Baseball Media: “From viral prodigy to MLB doorstep, Blaze Jordan is RAKING for the St. Louis Cardinals.”
MiLB Central: “Blaze Jordan in tonight’s game: 5-6 | 4 1B | 1 2B | 2 R | 1 RBI. #STLCards.”
Redbird Farmhands: “When looking at a Blaze Jordan for Nolan Gorman swap. I’m looking at a few things but most important to me. 1. How does the defense look at 3B? 2. How much does his extreme tendencies to chase potentially limit his hitting profile? I personally think both currently limit him from a call-up, I hope to see progress on both fronts soon, but I don’t think he’s ready.”
The Cardinals Have a Hole a Third Base
With the recent struggles of former top prospect Nolan Gorman, Jordan has a clear lane to playing time if the Cardinals were to promote him.
In Gorman’s last 15 games, he’s 7/46, with 22 strikeouts. On top of his offensive woes, he’s spiraled on defense–a steep decline from his early-season improvements.
When discussing Jordan, as STL Sports Central’s Brenden Schaeffer puts it:
“What’s fascinating is that for a guy who’s got a little pop in the bat, he just doesn’t really strike out a lot–and never has. Even in the years where he wasn’t as productive in the Red Sox system, strikeouts have just not been a huge part of his game.”
Jordan obviously has the tools for MLB success. Right now, though, the Cardinals must pace themselves on shuffling through their young talent.
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