St. Louis Cardinals select Texas SS Jalin Flores in 2025 MLB Draft

Jalin Flores has been a staple in the Texas program for the last three seasons. Between David Pierce and now Jim Schlossnagle, shortstop has been held down by Flores. Now, he can now take his game to the next level after being selected in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Flores will begin his days with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was taken in the 11th round with the No. 330 overall pick. Hopefully, a good destination for the three-year Texas player.

The 2024 season was by far the best from Flores, at least from a statistical standpoint. He finished with a .340 batting average while hitting 18 home runs and knocking in 56 RBIs. Flores got his OPS over 1.000 as well, coming in at 1.064.

Not much of the same can be said about Flores this past season. His batting average dropped by over 100 points while both slugging and on-base numbers significantly lowered as well. Weirdly enough, he still came through at times for Texas with RBIs, falling two short of his total from the year prior.

Shortstop is really where he thrived, though. Flores had the best fielding percentage of his career at .970, only committing eight errors. While offensive production is needed out of a shortstop, playing great defense can certainly make up for it all.

What MLB Draft analysts are saying about Jalin Flores

Ahead of the draft, a scouting report was produced on Flores via MLB.com. They talked about his ability at the plate, what stands out, and what needs to be worked upon. Overall, MLB.com graded him out as a 40 on an 80-grade scale.

“An aggressive right-handed hitter, Flores looks to launch balls in the air to his pull side and has the bat speed, strength and leverage to generate 20 homers per season,” the scouting report said. “He’s equally effective against lefties and righties, though his free-swinging ways make him unlikely to hit for a high average or draw many walks. He has some of the highest chase rates in college baseball against curveballs and sliders but makes consistent contact when he swings at strikes.”

Questions are then presented about what position Flores will play long-term. Spending his time at Texas as a shortstop, that ability might not be there at the next level. “Mixed opinions” is the term used by MLB.com, citing “below-average speed” despite having a strong arm. Worst case, Flores remains on the left side of the infield and winds up playing the hot corner.