Gurevitch, Jordan Share Cardinals MILB Player of the Month Honors
The Cardinal Chronicle
Gurevitch, Jordan Share Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month Honors
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league system had plenty of offensive production in April, but two corner bats separated themselves from the pack.
Jack Gurevitch and Blaze Jordan were named co-Minor League Players of the Month after each delivered a strong opening month and helped set the tone for the Cardinals’ farm system.
Gurevitch, a 22-year-old first baseman and third baseman, put together one of the most complete months of any hitter in the organization. He slashed .286/.396/.545 with four home runs, eight doubles and 20 RBIs, reaching base safely in 18 of the 20 games he played.
The production was not empty noise, either. Gurevitch ranked among the top three Cardinals minor leaguers in RBIs, extra-base hits, total bases, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS for the month. His .941 OPS reflected both the damage and the consistency.
His best game came April 21, when he drove in a career-high five runs as part of a two-extra-base-hit performance. That kind of game tends to get noticed, and in Gurevitch’s case, it fit into a larger April pattern rather than standing alone as a one-night flash.
Ranked as the No. 26 prospect in the Cardinals’ system, Gurevitch has continued to push his way into a more prominent conversation. His combination of on-base ability, gap power and run production made his recent promotion to High-A Peoria feel less like a surprise and more like the next proper step.
Jordan, meanwhile, brought the thunder.
The 23-year-old first baseman and third baseman slashed .276/.323/.517 with five home runs, six doubles and 13 RBIs across 22 games. He collected 24 hits, piled up 45 total bases and finished among the top three Cardinals minor leaguers in hits, total bases, home runs and extra-base hits.
Jordan also produced nine multi-hit games during the month, showing that his power came with enough steady contact to make him a dangerous middle-of-the-order presence. On April 2, he recorded the fourth multi-homer game of his professional career, a reminder of the raw impact still sitting in his bat.
He also delivered in walk-off fashion, collecting his third career walk-off RBI on April 1 when he was hit by a pitch with the game on the line. It was not exactly a Hollywood swing, but it still counts on the scoreboard. Baseball has a funny way of rewarding toughness, too.
Together, Gurevitch and Jordan gave the Cardinals two productive corner bats from slightly different profiles. Gurevitch’s month was built on balance, reach-base consistency and extra-base production. Jordan’s was built on damage, multi-hit games and home run power.
For an organization always looking for more thump in the system, that is a welcome development.
Gurevitch now takes his April momentum to Peoria, where the challenge will grow against High-A pitching. Jordan, already carrying a reputation for power, continues working to show that his bat can be more than occasional loud contact.
Both earned the honor. Both earned the attention.
And for the Cardinals’ player development staff, April gave them exactly what they want to see from corner infield bats: production, power and enough consistency to believe there may be more coming.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports