Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) has enjoyed a strong start to 2023 season with the Minnesota Twins’ triple-A St. Paul Saints.

May 8, 2023

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

Selected by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft, right-hander Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) decided to turn pro instead of heading to Auburn, signing for $515,000 USD.

A product of the Ontario Blue Jays and the Junior National Team, Balazovic was roughly four years younger than most of his teammates and his opponents in the Gulf Coast League following the draft, where the right-hander would make eight appearances at the age of 17.

In 2019, the Ontario product really put himself on the radar of the Twins organization as he was named to the Futures Game and pitched to a 2.69 ERA through 93 2/3 innings split between Single-A and High-A, appearing in 19 games.

Fast forward to 2023 and Balazovic is one of the Twins’ top-ranked pitching prospects, slotting in at No. 21 via MLB Pipeline heading into the campaign, his seventh as a professional. To protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, Balazovic was added to the 40-man roster following the 2020 season and he has yet to crack the big league roster as he continues to work his way through the minor league ladder.

For the most part, the Canadian has excelled on the mound within the Twins system, facing more experienced players but finding ways to strike out opponents and keep runs off the board. That was until last season when a knee injury suffered in the offseason delayed his start to the year, eventually making it back on the mound on May 1 in a rehab start with Single-A Fort Myers before making the jump to triple-A to join the St. Paul Saints.

This delayed start mixed in with the recovery from his injury produced his worst season on record. He authored a 7.68 ERA through 23 outings (21 starts) with a 13.1 H/9, 21 home runs allowed, and a 4.6 BB/9, with his command off-kilter and impacting most of his season, with the right-hander figuring things out late in the year.

In September, Balazovic was back to his old ways, making five starts and allowing just eight earned runs through 21 innings (3.43 ERA) with 30 strikeouts. The free passes were still an issue with 10 walks during those five games but the runs were being kept off the board and the damage was limited, a turnaround from the months prior.

Heading into this spring training, Balazovic was behind some of his Twins’ counterparts on the depth charts after struggling last season but was healthy compared to 12 months prior. That was until an unfortunate incident on February 11 when the Mississauga product was involved in an off-field altercation that resulted in the 6-foot-5 starter breaking his jaw. This in turn delayed his build-up for the regular season and Balazovic started the year in the bullpen compared to the rotation for St. Paul, his usual spot on the mound since joining the Twins back in 2016.

While he was shaky in his first relief outing, walking two batters and allowing an earned run, Balazovic went on a three-game stretch where he allowed just three walks and two hits through 4 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts. He made one more relief appearance to end the month of April but his first appearance in May was on the mound as a starter, going 3 1/3 innings against the Nashville Sounds, allowing just one earned run, while striking out six.

So far this season, Balazovic has gotten off to a strong start albeit in a different role, amassing a 2.45 ERA with just six hits allowed through 11 innings to the tune of a 1.273 WHIP. His arsenal is still electric, as he currently sits with a 13.9 K/9 with 17 strikeouts and is hitting the mid-90s with his fastball which is pairing well with his three off-speed offerings (slider, changeup, and curveball) which all sit within the 80-88 MPH range. He is still a bit wild with the command (6.5 BB/9) but if he continues starting, that stat will likely improve as he logs more innings with more consistency.

For Balazovic, this is an important year. At 24 years old and coming off a troubling campaign at triple-A last season, the Twins organization is expecting big things from the former Top 100 prospect.

It will also be interesting to see how the club will use Balazovic moving forward given the depth in the rotation ranks, including Bailey Ober, Louie Varland, Simeon Woods-Richardson, David Festa, Ronny Henriquez, and Matt Canterino all looking for time at the big league level.

If Balazovic can continue to strike out batters and improve his command, he will likely find some time with the Twins potentially in a bullpen capacity but the club may continue stretching him out in St. Paul, which is still yet to be determined whether he will get more reps as a starter or as a reliever moving forward. The good news is that the troubles that bothered him in 2022 seem to be in the past and his ability to strike out and attack opposing batters is likely giving the organization faith that he can continue starting compared to working out of the bullpen, an idea that will become more clear in the coming days.