Diehard Prospect No. 50: Jordan Craft

Editor’s Note: Diehard Magazine begins its second annual countdown of the top 50 prospects in the Red Sox chain today. Check here daily for the latest in-depth scouting report! And subscribe to our print magazine in order to learn even more on the top 50. Today: Prospect no. 50, pitcher Jordan Craft. (FREE PREVIEW OF PREMIUM AND MAGAZINE CONTENT)

Jordan Craft is not going to open a lot of eyes with his pitching resume. He attended college at Dallas Baptist University, a Division I independent, and pitched just 10 innings during his freshman season in 2005. After going 4-3 with a 5.34 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 59 innings last year, he was selected by the Red Sox in the 13th round of the draft—a notable achievement, to be sure, but well after the so-called “can’t-miss” kids have been picked.

Craft opened his first professional season on the shelf recovering from a shin fracture and didn’t make his debut until Aug. 10. He appeared in just nine games between the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox and short-season Single-A Lowell.

But don’t let the anonymous pedigree or abbreviated 2006 campaign fool you. Dallas Baptist is a legit baseball factory: Seven of its players were drafted last June and former Sox prospect—and defending National League batting champion—Freddy Sanchez was selected out of Dallas Baptist in 2000.

Craft performed well once he took the mound last summer: He posted a 1.72 ERA between his two stops. And if he can come up with an off-speed pitch to complement his mid-90s fastball…well, it may not be long before Craft opens a lot of eyes.

Sox scouting director Jason McLeod identified Craft as a potential sleeper last July. Nothing he saw out of Craft last summer or in the Instructional League last fall in Ft. Myers changed his mind.

“I don’t think Jordan’s going to be a guy that’s going to come busting out of the gate and become a prospect to watch all of a sudden,” McLeod said. “But I still believe, with his size and where his arm works and how easy the arm action [is]—he’ll throw you the 95 with movement on it—for where we took him in the draft, I think that he could be a [sleeper],” McLeod said. “He could be a guy that isn’t getting a lot of attention, maybe not even this year. Then all of a sudden, you see him coming on to the scene.”

Craft worked with the Sox on a second pitch at the Instructional League. McLeod said he is still experimenting with a slider, curveball and a change-up and that the mechanics of the pitches remain a challenge.

“The breaking pitch is the one he’s still trying to get consistent with,” McLeod said. “That’s what our player development guys are working with him on right now. His whole thing is he’s really got to be able to stay in his delivery and stay online. And obviously, that’s with a lot of guys, I think—getting consistent in their delivery.”

Given his rawness and his need to become comfortable with an off-speed pitch, Craft will likely serve as a starter this season. But if he can develop that complementary offering, Craft could race up the ladder sooner than most anticipate.

“He’s a guy I still feel can be a dark horse of this draft because his arm is so good—he’ll really show you some good stuff,” McLeod said. “He’s not a wild throw, grab-and-chuck it [kind of person]. But he’s a guy that developmentally, needs some innings. And you’re going to be keeping an eye on him to make a move.”


Diehard managing editor Jerry Beach can be reached at [e-mail]. To receive a free issue of Diehard, call 888-979-0979.