2024 MLB Draft Profile: Jalin Flores
Draft Profile: Jalin Flores (Texas)
Height: 6'2
Weight: 210
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Jalin Flores, a significant contributor in the heart of the Texas Longhorns lineup, has recovered from a tough 2023 campaign with an impressive 2024 campaign that hopes to get him selected on the higher end of the 2024 MLB Draft
The immediate reaction to Flores’s offensive approach is two-fold. One — he is hyper-aggressive, as evidenced by his willingness to chase and swing at a lot of pitches. He has, however, drastically improved his contact quality in 2024, and has among the lowest groundball rates in college baseball. He does a great job of lifting the ball in the air for damage opportunities (45% sweetspot rate), which will undoubtedly gain him fans in some MLB scouting departments.
In addition, Flores handles a lot of arm-side movement and deviations well in terms of contact quality (hard-hit rates of at least 48 percent against every form of arm-side movement). His swing-and-miss, especially against fastballs, is substantial though. He especially struggles to generate quality contact against sinker profiles down in the zone, pushing whiff rates into the low 40s on both pitch profiles.
Flores’s attraction is that he can generate solid contact quality on any type of pitch profile. He excels against breaking balls, which helps build his profile in terms of ability to generate quality contact.
While the whiff rates are again substantial (both over 40%) he can lift both and induce damage to sliders and curveballs alike (sweetspot rates over 40% against both), and ranks in the 97th-99th percentile in wOBA and xwOBA when he faces them, respectively. The power presence is substantive, and it shows with ISO percentage over .400 against both pitches. His ability to damage any pitch puts him in an intriguing class.
Defensively, Flores can stay on the left side of the infield. He has impressive arm strength that enables him to make throws from just about anywhere on that side, which enables him to have a pretty expansive potential range. I think he can stick at shortstop, which would be extremely beneficial for his long-term prospects.
Overall, Flores’s swing and miss levels are substantial. His profile is on the toolsier side, but he has backed it up with results in 2024 so far. He can produce against any pitch type, has plus power to the pull side, and has the defensive prowess to be a plus defender at third base, though in my opinion, I think he has enough to stick at shortstop.
Flores does have a ways to go in terms of improving plate discipline, he is a pull-heavy hitter, and his swing form is not the prettiest, but it goes to show what could be unlocked if a team harnesses his development. He may go somewhere during day two of the draft, perhaps higher than some think, due to his consistent ability to lift the ball in the air, something modern MLB front offices seem to value. He may also go back to school for another year at Texas, which I suspect would lead to him being highly coveted in the 2025 MLB Draft. I am excited to see Flores finish out this season and what becomes of his future.
