Blaze Jordan is a name you should file away in your memory bank.
Sure, he’s only 15 years old, but the way this ninth grader can crush baseballs makes it seem like he’s destined for stardom.
“He has a God-given ability to hit home runs,” one scout told Danny Knobler of Bleacher Report.
That’s quite the compliment.
Here’s a closer look at the phenom.
Name: Blaze Jordan
Position: 1B, 3B
Bats: Right
Age: 15
Height: Six-foot-one | Weight: 215 pounds
Draft status: Eligible for 2021 MLB Draft
Wait, he hit the ball how far?!
Jordan has been a regular participant for several years of an annual home run derby called the Power Showcase. It was the same event that future MLB star Bryce Harper competed in as a teenager, cranking a record 502-foot home run at Tropicana Field in Florida.
At age 14, Jordan eclipsed Harper’s record with a 504-foot smash.
The stadium announcer sums up the kid’s power pretty well in the video below.
“This is unreal. This is inhuman.”
The comparisons
As a slugger, Jordan has drawn comparisons to Harper, Kris Bryant and Ken Griffey Jr., according to the excellent Bleacher Report feature.
Emphasis on the “slugger” part, though. Jordan is not quite the overall athlete that those players were as teenagers, however, the corner infielder has changed his diet and worked hard to become more mobile.
He has also trained with future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, according to his Instagram account.
What’s in a name?
Blaze is quite the first name, right? It’s almost like he was destined to stand out from the pack.
His parents gave Jordan the name with the hopes he would eventually become a star in another sport.
“I said, ‘That’s an awesome football name,'” says his dad Chris, who played semipro football before opening a nutrition store in Mississippi.
“Now it’s a good baseball name.”
When can he be drafted?
Jordan, who attends DeSoto Central High in Southaven, Miss., is not eligible for the MLB Draft until 2021, his graduating year of high school. There’s still plenty of time for him to develop, but he figures to amass plenty of notoriety along the way.
Jordan received heavy interest from baseball powerhouse Vanderbilt University, but ultimately decided to stay close to home, committing to Mississippi State in 2016, when he was 13. “I just knew to the bottom of my heart where I wanted to go. I’ve known for quite a while,” Jordan said at the time, according to the Clarion Ledger. “I feel really blessed. When they first came, I just felt like it was the right choice.”
It’s difficult to glean much insight from high school stats, but for what it’s worth, Jordan is a beast. Over 25 career games with the varsity squad, he owns a 1.359 OPS and gets on base in more than half his plate appearances.
He also doubles as a decent pitcher, even boasting a 91-m.p.h. fastball.
But make no mistake: Jordan’s mighty bat is the tool that could eventually make him a superstar.
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