Baseball - Nationals Touting Jesus Flores As Catche

Last December, Nationals selected 22 year old Jesus Flores from the Mets in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Flores would have to stage in the Major League team the entire season or he has to be returned to the Mets. It is very unlikely that the Nationals would return him. This means that Flores would most probably end up as a backup behind the plate for Brian Schneider.

The good news for the Nationals is that Flores is learning fast considering that he has never played above Class A Ball. If Flores had not joined the Major League, he would have headed for the Minor Leagues, playing Double A Harrisburg.

Bob Boone, assistant general manager, is extremely optimistic about Flores’ learning abilities. He went on to point out that former Reds’ catcher Johnny Bench and former Brewers’ shortstop Robin Yount joined the Major Leagues as teenagers and learned whatever possible as they played and ended up being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Boone said it was possible for Flores to learn while playing and the Nationals had taken him on because they believed he would be successful in MLB. Flores is quite confident about his learning abilities and is already comparing himself to other catchers in the league.

The Nationals are already touting Flores as the catcher of the future and he comes highly recommended by Manny Acta, the manager, John Stearns, Tripe A Columbus manager, and Davey Johnson, who was the consultant for the National before the trade deadline. Flores always had a great arm and is considered to be an above average catcher. Last season for Class A St Lucie, Flore hit 21 home runs and was selected to be part of the Florida State League All Star Game.