Rafael Flores: Yankees 2024 Minor League Player Of The Year
Rafael Flores remembers the exact moment he went from projectability to possibility at Rio Hondo Junior College in California.
“It’s funny. I’d already put on all the weight and was pretty good with where I was,” the 23-year-old said. “There was this one day where our coach (Mike Salazar) made us run these crazy hills.
“I don’t know what it was. I think I was just pissed off we were doing that and didn’t want to do it again. After that day, for some reason, I turned the corner and just started banging.”
A one-time high school afterthought in Anaheim who said he didn’t play well in travel ball, Flores filled out his 6-foot-4 frame to a sturdy 220 pounds and developed into one of the more intriguing juco prospects in the country.
After a big season at Rio Hondo, the catcher/first baseman went undrafted in 2022. The Yankees signed him immediately after the draft.
Has it ever paid off.
Flores began the season at High-A Hudson Valley and moved to Double-A Somerset in late June. He hit .279/.379/.495 with 21 home runs in 122 games. He made 67 starts at catcher and 53 more at first base or DH.
The righthanded-batting Flores hits the ball as hard as consistently as any Yankees farmhand.
The “undrafted free agent” label has served as inspiration for Flores, who believes that having a “chip on his shoulder” has helped take him to new heights this season.
“It’s just always there for me, and I use it as motivation,” he said. “I have no other option but to play well, but to be consistent, but to work my tail off.
“It’s the type of player I’ve become, and I’m going to keep going and riding it out until the big leagues.”
