On this edition of the Pirates’ prospect update series, we take a look at the newly acquired catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores.
Flores was just recently acquired from the New York Yankees in the David Bednar trade, and he was rated as their most MLB ready prospect. Now in Pittsburgh’s system, Flores could be fast tracked to the Pirates who are in desperate need of a big time bat.
Flores played two years at Cypress Junior College in California from 2019-2020, took off that next season, and then was back on the Junior College scene with Rio Hondo JC in 2022, and really came on team’s radars after a strong summer with the Alaska Goldpanners. Flores was signed by the Yankees at the end of July in 2022, and over the past couple of seasons became one of their best minor league hitters.
2023 saw the Anaheim native appear in 105 games with High-A Hudson Valley, and that was the first great introduction to how he could perform in professional baseball. A slash line of .259/.346/.366 with 8 homers would be just a glimmer of the bright future for Flores. 2024 saw him jump up to 21 homers in 122 games as his power was on full display throughout the year in High-A and a promotion to Double-A Somerset. 2025 has been another strong campaign as so far through 101 games Flores is slashing .278/.355/.472 with 16 homers and 62 RBIs. His debut with the Indianapolis Indians saw him gather two-doubles.
The question now is how long is it going to be until Flores sniffs the Major Leagues. Long term he likely will be splitting time between catcher and first base, although his time so far as a professional behind the plate has been very up and down. Though he does move well on a larger than average frame for a catcher, his arm accuracy and delivery has been very inconsistent. In 67 starts last year there were 115 steals against him at an 84 percent success rate, and there is plenty for work to be done to refine his receiving, blocking, and framing.
His plus power is exciting though, especially considering the fact that the Pirates offense is in desperate need of some better hitters, and some hitters with some serious pop. Flores at the very least provides that, and may see more time at first base or DH because of that. Being that he’s been in Triple-A for just 14 games, it seems pretty realistic that he’ll start 2026 back with Indianapolis, if he doesn’t absolutely light it up in Spring Training. With that being said there are certainly more questions than answers regarding the team’s lineup heading into next year.
Rafael Flores is currently ranked as the number 11 prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates.