A Close Look in at Jordan Powell - Rhode Island's Outstanding Outfielder
When I first began watching Rhode Island baseball in recent years, I often wondered who the heralded prospect Jordan Powell was. I learned really quick about my preconceived interest. The center fielder from Kingwood, Texas has bred success ever since he arrived to Kingston, RI. Powell has his name etched into the Rhode Island record books already. When talking about Jordan Powell, everyone is talking about the player who is ranked as having the 10th-best batting average and 4th-best fielding percentage ever for a Rhode Island baseball player.
Coming into the 2017 season, Jordan Powell has been recognized for his past accomplishments, as well as his overall talent and potential. On March 23, 2015, the center fielder was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. In the same season, he was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team. In many respects, Powell would have won the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year award in 2015 but his teammate and Rhode Island starting pitcher, Tyler Wilson, had too strong of a resume for the award.
In his second season, a sophomore slump was out of the question for this talented baseball player. Quite on the contrary, Jordan Powell's strong sophomore campaign led to a selection to the ABCA All-Northeast Region Second Team and the NEIBA All-New England First Team. In addition, he was recognized by the conference when he was selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team. There is no mystery to the fact that D1Baseball.com highlights Powell as the Atlantic 10's #17 Prospect for 2017 and I think that he is even better than that individual ranking.
Offensively, Jordan Powell can put on a show of line drives because of his stellar plate discipline. His rather wide batting stance lends itself to failure IF the given batter does not have a quick bat. Fortunately, Powell has a lightning-quick swing and there is ample power to the gaps that comes from that swing. Even in the 2016 NCAA tournament against #1 seed South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, the Texas native exuded confidence at the plate and in the outfield. In particular, while going up to bat, I could see fear in the eyes of the South Carolina pitchers that faced him. In the Rams' historic 5-4 victory over South Carolina in the 2016 NCAA regional round, Jordan Powell came through with a RBI single in the fifth inning that drove in teammate, Laurence Hill.
Defensively, Jordan Powell could form a highlight reel out of all the masterful plays that he has made in the outfield. A baseball player does not have the 4th-best fielding percentage at any collegiate baseball program by accident. The center fielder's defensive mechanics are what makes him an MLB-level talent. His range extends to as far as the baseball diamond extends on any given day. In addition, Powell has a cannon for an arm and opponents have to think twice about trying to take extra bases.
Looking forward to the future, Jordan Powell paces his team offensively while often batting third in the lineup and forming a fearsome group of top six in the batting order, along with Chris Hess, Martin Figueroa, Matt O'Neil, Michael Corin, and Brett McManus. Thus far, in the 2017 baseball season, the outfielder brings a .330 batting average, .364 on-base percentage, and a .351 slugging percentage. For the third consecutive season, I expect that Powell will sustain a batting average of over .300 again. In the outfield, Powell reigns in a total fielding percentage of 97.3%.
As a Rhode Island Rams center fielder, Jordan Powell is the most MLB-ready positional player on this current roster.
