Former Washington Huskies standout Levi Jordan got his shot on Monday when the Cincinnati Reds called him up to join the ranks of the MLB. The Reds selected Jordan in the Rule 5 draft over the offseason from the Chicago Cubs and sent him to play for their AAA affiliate, the Louisville Bats.
So far this season, Jordan has batted .302 with 5 home runs, 10 doubles, and six stolen bases in 54 games with the Bats. While he has primarily acted as a utility player in Louisville, manning second and third base in the field, along with center and left field, he will be in right field for the Reds in place of the injured TJ Friedl and mostly face left-handed pitchers.
The Puyallup, Washington native was a walk-on for the Huskies in 2015 after being part of an undefeated state championship team at Puyallup High School during his senior year. Once on Montlake, he quickly established himself as one of the best infielders in the Pac-12, making just 2 errors in 206 chances during his freshman season.
He covered second base his during his first three years on the team before taking over at shortstop for his senior year.
During his time at Washington he was credited as an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention in 2016 and 2017 before being named to the All-Pac-12 Team in 2018. He really impressed at the plate during his final season, slugging 8 home runs and 17 doubles while holding a .305 as the Huskies made a run to the College World Series, which also led to the Cubs selecting him with the No. 878 overall pick.
Jordan played in 210 games and had 710 at bats, which both inside the top five in school history. If he can display the defensive versatility and consistency at the plate that he did in college, he could make it tough to send him back to Triple-A.
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Cin City bound!
Congrats to @levijordan_ on being called up to the @Reds! pic.twitter.com/gJBKwepX6g
— Washington Baseball (@UW_Baseball) June 24, 2024