UK baseball commit Ben Jordan has enormous upside
Cats Illustrated has been introducing Kentucky's new baseball commits as well as those who have been pledged to UK for a longer time.
That latter category includes Ben Jordan, now, as we're shining the spotlight on the 6-foot-9 right-handed pitcher with enormous upside.
It's possible that Jordan might bristle at such a description, which speaks to the ceiling that many people in the baseball world believes he has. When Jordan talks about his game and his future he's about as nonchalant as a player could be, downplaying talk about his potential and emphasizing the work that needs to be done to fulfill it.
Even when Jordan discusses interest from the several Major League Baseball clubs that are taking a close look at him, he almost shrugs it off as a part of the process, but a part of the process that he's not yet overly concerned with.
He did tell Cats Illustrated, following the coaching change and even with strong early reviews from scouts, "I think I'm gonna go to Kentucky."
Of course, that's subject to change, as it would be for any elite prospect believed to have, potentially, a big future in the game.
But it's significant nonetheless.
Whether he would admit it or not, Jordan is the kind of ace-in-training that could, again potentially, do much to change the fortunes and trajectory of the program he might join.
His focus now, however, is on refining his pitching, working on the little things, coming to a higher degree of self-understanding, and continuing to improve his strengths.
The towering pitcher can throw a fastball 97 miles per hour, although he's still working on his consistency in almost every respect and is quick to point that out.
But as much as Jordan downplays the talk about his upside and the future that might await, in a best case scenario, the hype is undeniable. And it's understandable. There's his size, the velocity and, there's also the fact that he didn't give up a single earned run all summer with the Kentucky Baseball Club. Not a single run.
It's obvious, then, that one of Nick Mingione's first priorities as Kentucky's new coach would be to get to know Jordan, to build a relationship, and to prepare for the possibility that he might be giving the program a huge boost in the years ahead.
"I like them a lot," Jordan said of Mingione and his new staff in Lexington. "I think a lot of those guys. They're a bunch of good guys who can change the program for the better, honestly. I wouldn't say I've talked to them a lot but I've talked to them several times. I think they're good people. I trust them."
Jordan and the Kentucky Baseball Club competed in Lexington this week, and that was a good opportunity to spend a little time around the UK program during a very significant transition, from Gary Henderson to the new staff.
"They've watched me a few times," Jordan said. "They've told me they think I have a high ceiling."
The Olive Hill (Ky.) West Carter County pitcher told Cats Illustrated that he liked Henderson and thought highly of the former Kentucky coach.
"I thought he was a great guy. I thought he was a great pitching coach," Jordan said. "But with these new guys coming in I think they're really going to change the program for the better. They know what they're doing."
When Jordan talks about where he's at in his development as a pitcher he doesn't sound a lot like a player many believe can be a first round pick in the MLB Draft one day. And maybe that self-criticism and ability to identify areas where improvement is needed is a reason for Jordan's positive development.
He's especially made strides over the past year.
Although Jordan admits he has a problem with his back foot sliding off the rubber, his velocity improved dramatically and his summer performance with the Kentucky Baseball Club is all that needs to be said about his progress. But there's always room to improve.
"Really, sometimes, I just forget to be a natural athlete on the mound," Jordan told Cats Illustrated. "I've been up to 97 (with his fastball) this year, but I'm kind of fluctuating right now. One game I'll throw really, really hard. Another game I'll take away my athleticism (and not throw as hard). I'm just trying to be an athlete."
Jordan says he's always thrown the ball with at a very good velocity, not in a braggadocios way but as a simple statement of fact. But he even couched that statement in a note of humility.
"Last year I had bad mechanical issues," he said. "Two years ago I was throwing 88-90. This year I've been working in and out of (the issues). I'll go back every now and then. I'm usually around 90 but whenever I'm doing it right I'm in the upper-90's."
To what does Jordan attribute the change over the past year? Has it been a matter of simple maturity with age, more coaching and work?
Again, Jordan responded with an apparent shrug and one theory that seems to hold weight.
"I don't know, man," he said. "I had an ankle injury and just trying to get up and start throwing is hard. I was rushing it. We started trying to change a lot of stuff. How I stayed back over the rubber really just stopped my momentum. It wasn't a bad year."
And that might be an understatement.
Ultimately, Jordan believes simple mechanical improvement have been the biggest driving factor behind any progress he's made in the big picture, in moving towards that potential that he often hears people mention.
The draft is a fact of life for the nation's top high school baseball players, and it's sometimes an ominous fact for baseball coaches at some of the nation's programs, such as Kentucky. It's a variable that makes baseball recruiting extremely difficult, along with the awkward scholarship restrictions that affect position players more than pitchers.
Jordan acknowledges the draft talk, but doesn't seem too eager to talk about the draft himself. When he said he thinks he's going to go to Kentucky, that was the only time he addressed the issue.
Scouts have told Jordan the same thing Kentucky's coaches have, both the old staff and the new.
"They said I have a really high ceiling. They think I'd be a possible first rounder," he said. "It's just about how I'm going to show this fall. A lot of people think talent-wise I can compete with everybody. I've just go to go out there and do it to succeed and do my best. And I've got to stay healthy."
Jordan's father has been the point man for most of the communication between the player and Big League scouts. Jordan himself said they've been in some degree of communication with representatives of the San Francisco Giants, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Oakland A's, the Texas Rangers and more recently the New York Mets.
"They're just getting to know me," Jordan said.
That's right where Mingione is as well.