Chicago White Sox prospect profile: Bernardo Flores
Leading into the 2018 Major League Baseball season, Da Windy City will be previewing both the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox Top-30 prospects. The White Sox #30 prospect is Bernardo Flores.
The White Sox farm system is loaded with talent.
Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the #2 farm system in the MLB, the White Sox farm system is widely regarded as one of the best in recent memory.
Naturally with a stacked farm system as well known as the White Sox’, there’s going to be players in the bottom rankings that get overlooked.
Bernardo Flores happens to be one of them.
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Drafted in the 7th round out of the University of Southern California in 2016, Flores has progressed through three minor league levels in just a season and a half.
Flores’ stats don’t jump off the page. A 10-7 record with a 3.42 ERA in 23 is very good, but doesn’t really compare to the numbers of bigger name prospects such as Michael Kopech and Alec Hansen.
This doesn’t mean Flores doesn’t have the potential to be a big producer in the future. HIs rank might say otherwise, but Bernardo Flores has the making of a future mainstay at the major league level.
Command is what gets most lower-tier prospects to the next level. With a combin
ed 76 walks in 301.2 innings in his first two professional seasons, Flores has flaunted the ability to put his pitches where he wants on a consistent basis.
On top of his ability to command his pitches, Flores does a spectacular job of keeping the ball in the park. Flores has allowed just 10 home runs in over 300 professional innings pitched.
The biggest downside of Flores is that he doesn’t excel in any one aspect of pitching. Flores averages less than a strikeout per inning, and doesn’t throw the ball particularly hard, with his fastball topping off between 90-93 miles per hour.
According to MLB Pipeline, the White Sox have began to develop a cutter in Flores’ pitching arsenal. If Flores can add the cutter to his above-average fastball-changeup combo, Flores’ chances of making it to (and succeeding at) the major leagues will skyrocket.
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At the age of 22, Bernardo Flores isn’t far away from the big leagues. After advancing all the way to High-A Winston-Salem in 2017, Flores could start the season at Double-A Birmingham, and potentially finished the season at Triple-A Charlotte.
Flores’ ETA is likely mid-2019. The White Sox will likely want at least another full season to see what they have in Flores and what they can get out of him before he makes the jump. If his command stays in tact and he develops a third plus pitch, Bernardo Flores will almost certainly have a future at the major league level.