Pirates Call Up Top Catching Prospect

He played in 36 games with Indianapolis, slashing .281/.363/.459 for an OPS of .822, with 38 hits in 135 at-bats, four doubles, one triple, six home runs, 28 RBIs and 15 walks to 41 strikeouts.

Flores started 21 games at catcher, seven games at first base and then eight games at catcher, where he'll have chances to play at both positions at the MLB level.

The Pirates acquired Flores on July 31, as a part of the trade that sent right-handed relief pitcher David Bednar to the New York Yankees. Fellow catcher/first baseman Edgleen Perez and outfielder Brian Sanchez came along with Flores in the trade to the Pirates from the Yankees.

He began his 2025 season with Double-A Somerset, slashing .287/.346/.496 for an OPS of .842, with 96 hits, 23 doubles, one triple, 15 home runs, 56 RBIs and 30 walks to 94 strikeouts.

Flores earned promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 19 and slashed .211/.388/.289 for an OPS of .677 in 10 games, with eight hits in 38 at-bats, a home run, four RBIs and 11 walks to 13 strikeouts.

He slashed .280/.354/.470 for an OPS of .824 in 133 games in the minor leagues, with 142 hits, 27 doubles, 22 home runs, 88 RBIs and 56 walks to 148 strikeouts.

Flores started 91 games at catcher, 23 games at designated hitter and 19 games at first base in the minors, with his 12 other starts at first base came at Somerset.

He hails from Anaheim, Calif. and played for Cypress Junior College for two seasons in 2019 and 2020, taking off in 2021, then coming back with Rio Honda Junior College in 2022, starred with the Alaska Goldpanners and signed with the Yankees for $75,000 as an undrafted free agent.

Flores played with Florida Complex League Yankees (FCL) for four games in 2022 before playing the entire season with High-A Hudson Valley in 2023.

He slashed .259/.346/.366 for an OPS of .712 in 105 games in 2023, with 99 hits, 15 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 41 RBIs and 49 walks to 108 strikeouts. He also played 57 games at first base, 33 at catcher and 15 games at designated hitter.

Flores started out the 2024 season with Hudson Valley, slashing .285/.403/.466 for an OPS of .869 in 57 games, before earning promotion to Somerset on June 26, where he slashed .274/.359/.519 for an OPS of .878 over 65 games.

MLB Pipeline ranks Flores at the eighth best prospect in the Pirates farm system and the top catching prospect.

The 24-year old joins Henry Davis and Joey Bart as one of three catchers on the Pirates roster. He also joins Spencer Horwitz and utlity man Nick Yorke as three options at first base for the Pirates.