What is this young left handed pitchers ceiling?

From Fangraphs' Eric Longenhagen:

 

"If not for the way Alec Hansen pitched after signing, Flores would be generating more buzz as the White Sox’ draft coup from 2016. Flores struck out a batter per inning as a sophomore at USC but his velocity was inconsistent as a junior, showing 93-94 some starts and dipping back down to 88-91 in others. He worked more with a cutter in 2016, though it may not be a pitch of focus going forward, and has a projectable four-pitch mix. Flores made more starts in pro ball after he signed than he did in three years at USC, so not only is his arm relatively fresh but his pitches probably feature more projection than one might expect from a typical college arm. He has a good pitcher’s build, pitches with downhill plane, and has feel for a shapely, average curveball and changeup, in addition to the cutter. The changeup was flashing plus in pro ball with great velocity separation from the fastball and arm-side fade. Flores mimics his fastball’s arm speed, as well.

 

I think, if you’re willing to project on the pitches based on a lack of reps in college, that there’s mid-rotation upside here. The velo fluctuations are concerning, he didn’t blow away rookie-level hitters in 2016, and he’s far from the majors, but I think Flores is one of the most interesting prospects in the system."

 

I like the kid a lot.

Edited June 16, 20178 yr by daggins

What is this young left handed pitchers ceiling?

Read the detailed scouting report here at FutureSox, with some embedded video too.

 

He's a project.