Equipped with a special fastball, 19-year-old righthander Dylan Jordan is making waves at Low-A Inland Empire.
The 2024 fifth-round pick out of Viera High in Florida has an up arrow next to his name thanks to his 93-95 mph sinker from a low three-quarters arm slot that averages 18-21 inches of horizontal break.
“I love it,” Inland Empire manager Dave Stapleton said. “It’s deceiving as can be, the way his arm slot is. He’s got a plus there.”
Despite a humdrum start to his season—and pro career—in the Arizona Complex League, the 6-foot-3 Jordan turned a corner in his strike-throwing after his first five starts in which he had a walk rate just north of 13%.
From his sixth outing to the end of the ACL season, Jordan held a 7.1% walk rate, which not only helped him limit runs with a 2.21 ERA but also miss bats with a 29.5% strikeout rate.
“The big thing for Dylan was the continued focus on fastball execution and overall strikes,” Angels assistant GM Joey Prebynski said. “It’s a good profile from the stance of his fastball getting groundball contact.”
Though Jordan’s fastball has been vital to his late-season success—including a one-run, six-inning start in the ACL championship game and holding down a 1.72 ERA through four starts in the California League—the refinement of his secondaries has become the new focus.
“When you look at the two secondaries in his slider and changeup, they both have the ability to create swing-and-miss,” Prebynski said. “We think he’s going to be able to get outs, not just on the ground, but through swing-and-miss.”
Though his fringe-average low-80s gyro slider and firm mid-to-upper 80s changeup don’t match the quality of his plus fastball, his pitchability and growth have garnered the attention of the Angels’ front office and development staff.
“There’s a growing period here that I think he’s going to have to go through,” Stapleton said, “but he shows some tremendous maturity for his age. It’s just a matter of time between now and when that phone call (to MLB) happens . . . and it will happen.”