Jordan Balazovic

Jordan Blake Balazovic

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 215 lb.
• High School St. Martin Secondary School
• Debut June 18, 2023

• Born September 17, 1998 in Mississauga, ON CAN

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Biographical Information

Jordan Balazovic pitched for the Canadian national team before reaching the majors in 2023. His grandfather Joe Balazovic pitched in the minors.

Balazovic pitched nine shutout innings for the Canadian junior team when they visited the Dominican Republic in 2016. Baseball America ranked him as the top Canadian high schooler entering the 2016 amateur draft. The Minnesota Twins took him in the 5th round of the 2016 amateur draft. He was the 5th Canadian taken that year and the second Canadian out of high school, after Andy Yerzy. The Twins scout was Walt Burrows.

In his pro debut, he was 2-1 with a save, 1.97 ERA and .217 opponent average for the GCL Twins. In 2017, he fell to 1-3, 4.91 with the same club. He moved up to the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2018 and posted a 7-3, 3.94 record with 78 K in 61 2/3 IP. The 20-year-old made the 2019 Futures Game, relieving Brady Singer in the 7th with a 2-0 deficit for the AL. He retired Daulton Varsho and Gavin Lux before Cristian Pache reached on an error. Balazovic picked off Pache to end the inning. After the AL scored twice in the bottom of the inning, Grayson Rodriguez replaced Balazovic. At the time, his fastball usually hit the mid-90s and his slider was noted as an effective pitch.

For the summer, he was at 2-1, 2.18 in 4 games for Cedar Rapids and 6-4, 2.84 in 15 for the Fort Myers Miracle, striking out 129 in 93 2/3 innings between the two stops and posting a .98 WHIP. He tied for 3rd among Twins farmhands in wins and was 3rd in Ks (behind Jhoan Duran and Bryan Sammons, each of whom had significantly lower K/9 rates). He led full-season Twins minor leaguers in K/9 in fact. He missed some time when he joined Team Canada for the 2019 Pan American Games. In his only start, he struggled against Cuba, going 3 2/3 innings and allowing five hits, four runs, a walk and two homers (to Raúl González and Yunior Ibarra) while striking out one before Ryan Kellogg relieved with a 4-4 score; Canada would go on to win the game and would finish the Games with a Silver Medal. Only Ben Abram and Jasvir Rakkar had higher ERAs for Canada.

After sitting out the 2020 season because the minor leagues were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, he was with the AA Wichita Wind Surge in 2021, going 5-4, 3.62 in 20 starts and logging 97 innings. In 22, he had a frustrating first season in AAA with the St. Paul Saints, going 0-7, 7.68 in 23 games including 21 starts. He also made one appearance on a rehabilitation assignment in the Florida State League. That tough season likely cost him a spot on the Canadian team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Things were better at the start of the 2023 season as he slid over to a relief role with St. Paul. Only 3 of his first 14 appearances were as a starter, and he was 1-1, 4.79 when he got the call to Minnesota in mid-June. He made his debut on June 18th, pitching against the Detroit Tigers in relief of Louie Varland, who lasted 4 1/3 innings. He completed the 5th and pitched three more innings, not giving up any runs, but the Twins had fallen in a 6-1 hole and were unable to climb out of it in spite of his solid work.

Related Sites

• Jordan Balazovic on mlb.com
• BR Register page