Athlete Of The Week: Jordan Taylor

ORLEANS – In a tight game Saturday against the Harwich Mariners, it was the opposite-field popup of Jordan Taylor that gave the Orleans Firebirds’ pitching staff an insurance run to close out the rest of the game.

Taylor, an outfielder from Stetson, reached a high fastball from Harwich left-hander Tom Chmielewski in the bottom of the sixth, lifting the ball over the right field wall to extend Orleans’ lead with the solo home run. He went 2 for 4 out of the ninth spot of the lineup in the 3-1 win.

“He’s a really good player,” manager Kelly Nicholson said. “He’s super athletic. He can really run. He can really throw. He’s got sneaky power. You wouldn’t think a kid that’s kind of built like that has that kind of pop to go oppo kind of against the wind, but it just speaks to his athleticism.”

It was the first RBI and home run of the summer for Taylor.

“Good thing about baseball, you get so many games,” he said. “You get to come out and do it again the next day, so it’s just about stacking days together.”

 He displayed an opposite-field, push-hitting approach Saturday against the Mariners. Taylor had also singled into right field prior to the home run.

“It’s just finding whatever’s working at that time, so hitting the ball backside, not getting beat as much is a good approach right now, so sticking to that and being consistent with it is pretty good,” Taylor said.

Taylor, 22, is the oldest player on the Firebirds in 2025. He came to the Cape having previously played in two other summer leagues and continuing a pipeline of Stetson Hatters to Orleans. The Firebirds like guys who have played in good summer leagues and have shown they can be successful and stay all summer, according to Nicholson.

“It’s great to see good things happen to good kids, and he’s a really good kid,” Nicholson said.