NEWS FLASH: Red Sox prospect home runs in their second game back after…

Red Sox power-hitting prospect homers in second game back from IL

Red Sox prospect Blaze Jordan went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer in Double-A Portland’s 8-6 loss to Reading on Thursday.

It was the 21-year-old first baseman’s second game back after spending a month on the injured list with a fractured finger.

Jordan is 4-for-10 with a homer, double, four RBIs and one stolen base in his two games since returning.

He batted .146 with a .234 on-base percentage and .195 slugging percentage in his first 11 games for Portland this year, then got hot. He’s now batting .294 with a .347 on-base percentage, .450 slugging percentage, .797 OPS, three homers, eight doubles, 20 RBIs, 13 runs, six walks and 12 strikeouts in 28 games.

Boston drafted Jordan in the third round in 2020. MassLive ranked him No. 17 on its Top 25 Red Sox prospect list entering 2024. Baseball America also ranks him Boston’s No. 17 prospect.

Other Red Sox minor league notes from Thursday:

~ Top prospect Marcelo Mayer returned to Portland’s lineup Thursday after sitting Tuesday and Wednesday with minor lower left leg soreness. He went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

~ Catcher Kyle Teel, Boston’s No. 3 prospect, went 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs in Portland’s loss. The 22-year-old, a 2023 first round pick out of Virginia, is batting .301 with a .402 on-base percentage, .464 slugging percentage, .866 OPS, six homers, 12 doubles, 37 RBIs, 40 runs, 27 walks, 51 strikeouts and five steals in 47 games for Portland.

~ Josh Winckowski earned the win in Triple-A Worcester’s 14-1 victory at Buffalo. The 25-year-old righty allowed just one run, three hits and no walks while striking out eight in 6 innings. Per Baseball Savant, he threw 31 cutters and got eight swings and misses with it. He also mixed in 16 changeups, 13 sinkers (94.9 mph average velo), 10 sliders and five four-seam fastballs (95.3 mph average velo).

 Romy Gonzalez, who’s on the IL with a left hamstring strain, went 1-for-2 with an RBI, walk and strikeout for Worcester in his first rehab game.

~ Chase Meidroth reached base four times (single, three walks) out of the leadoff spot for the WooSox. The 22-year-old infield prospect’s on-base percentage is now up to .442 in 56 games.

~ First base/catcher Nathan Hickey went 3-for-5 with a double, walk and five RBIs for Worcester. Hickey is a 2021 fifth round pick out of Florida.

~ Left-hander Hayden Mullins struck out 10 in 5 innings to record the win in High-A Greenville’s 8-5 victory on Thursday. Mullins, a 12th rounder out of Auburn in 2022, has 3.71 ERA in 11 starts.

~ Red Sox 2023 third-round pick Antonio Anderson has struggled this season for Low-A Salem. The 18-year-old shortstop is batting only .139. But he went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and one walk out of the leadoff spot in Low-A Salem’s 12-1 win.