June 11, 2020 at 7:40 PM
Red Sox select Blaze Jordan with third-round pick
With their third-round pick in the 2020 draft, the Red Sox selected Blaze Jordan, a third baseman out of DeSoto Central High School in Mississippi. Jordan was one of the top-ranked players left on the board when the Red Sox were on the clock at pick 89, ranking 42nd by MLB.com, 90th by Baseball America, and 35th by Perfect Game USA.
Listed at 6-foot-2 220 pounds, Jordan reclassified into the 2020 draft class in May 2019, making him one of the youngest players in the class as he will not turn 18 until December. His carrying tool is his power, with rumors of him hitting 500-foot home runs when he was just 13. Jordan won the High School Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game last July and has recorded exit velocities well over 100 mph in game action.
Defensively, he still has work to do to stick at third base, with many scouts projecting him to end up at first base. He is already a below-average runner and was inconsistent at the plate this spring when scouts saw him, which led to his slide to the third round. Committed to Mississippi State, Jordan will likely need an above-slot deal to forgo his college career. The slot value for pick 89 is $667,900, and the Red Sox will need to use some of the savings from the Nick Yorke pick to sign Jordan.
Scouting info was compiled from industry publications including Baseball America, Perfect Game USA, ESPN, FanGraphs, The Athletic, and MLB.com.
Photo Credit: Blaze Jordan by Perfect Game USA