Juan Flores

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #9 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High.
  
  Track Record: Viewed as one of the best defensive catchers in the 2023 international class, Flores signed with the Angels for $280,000. After a solid pro debut in the Dominican Summer League, he received a big league spring training invite in 2024 and then an aggressive assignment to Low-A Inland Empire as an 18-year-old. Flores showed a more advanced bat than expected and earned another aggressive assignment to High-A Tri-City, where his bat went cold. The Angels were encouraged by Flores’ improved game-planning and game-calling from behind the plate while still throwing out nearly 35% of basestealers between the affiliates.
  
  Scouting Report: Flores is a small but strong glove-first catcher. He has made harder and more consistent contact than expected early in his development, with a focus on contact with a line-drive swing from the right side. Flores’ swing isn’t always synced up and is upper-body dominant, leading to swinging over the top of balls. When he stays on plane, his natural strength can do some damage to his pull side on fastballs, with average-or-better raw power projection and fringe-average future game power. He has good hitting instincts and tracks pitches well, drawing his share of walks while limiting strikeouts, but he will be a bottom-of-the-order bat. Flores’ calling card will always be his big league-caliber defense. He has a lightning-quick exchange with a plus-plus arm he uses to regularly post sub-2.0-second pop times. He shows athletic lateral mobility and quiet receiving skills with improved game-calling.
  
  The Future: Flores has a chance to be a long-time major league backup on the strength of his defensive ability, while continual offensive strides could make him a below-average regular. He will see Double-A as a teenager in 2025.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 45 | Run: 40 | Field: 60 | Arm: 70.
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #17 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Viewed as one of Venezuela’s best defensive amateur catchers in his class, the Angels signed Flores for $280,000 at the start of the 2023 international signing period. He struggled during the first two weeks of his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League before finishing strong, posting a .767 OPS and 112 wRC+ with six homers in his final 40 games. His 53.1% caught-stealing percentage ranked second in the DSL in 2023.
  
  Scouting Report: Flores is a small but strong defense-first teenage catcher. He has made harder contact than expected early in development, with a rhythmic line-drive swing from the right side. His swing isn’t always synced up and can be upper-body heavy, leading to swinging over the top of balls. When he stays on plane, he can create some over-the-fence impact. He has good hitting instincts with a fine approach and will draw his share of walks while keeping his strikeouts limited, but he’ll likely always be power-over-hit with a well below-average hit tool. His calling card will always be his big-league caliber defense behind the plate. Flores has quiet receiving skills, lateral mobility and a plus-plus arm, regularly posting pop times under two seconds. He is a below-average runner. He is praised highly for his makeup.
  
  The Future: Flores has a chance to be a major league backup on the strength of his defensive ability, but further hitting development could increase his upside. The Angels may challenge his advanced defensive skill set at a full-season affiliate in 2024.
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 30 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Field: 60 | Arm: 70