In 1997, Randy Flores was drafted in the 9th round of the MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. At the time, Flores believed that scouts didn’t like him, which is why he spent so many years in the minor leagues. With the MLB Draft coming up, Flores will be the one picking new prospects that will improve the Cardinals online MLB sports betting odds in the future.
After spending nine years in the minor leagues, Flores was convinced scouts disliked him because he never got an opportunity to make it in the major leagues. What Flores didn’t realize at the time was that when he came out of the University of Southern California, what scouts saw was a left handed kid that threw an 80 mph fastball.
In a league where pitchers are throwing in the high 90s and even in triple digits, Flores wasn’t anything special and the scouts felt that he wouldn’t be able to make it on a major league roster. While Flores would eventually pitch in the majors, he was never a full-time roster member. At the time, Flores couldn’t see things from their perspective, now that he is a scout, it all final makes sense.
Flores, who was a member of the 2006 World Series team, is now 40-tears-old, and the director of amateur scouting for the Cardinals. Flores is taking over the job that belonged to Chris Correa, who was fired for hacking into the Houston Astros database. Flores finds himself in an enviable situation as he prepares for his first draft in charge because the Cardinals have a lot of picks this year.
Last season, the Cardinals finished with the best record in baseball, but they couldn’t turn it into a World Series run. This season, they are in third place in the NL Central but are expected to make a push as the season goes along. While it doesn’t look like the team will be able to compete for the World Series this season, they will still be one of the best teams in baseball, and if Flores handles the draft correctly, they will continue to be one of the best teams in baseball for some time.
Flores credits his time away from the game for allowing him to see things from a different perspective. In a recent interview, Flores said he is able to look at high school players and determine how high their ceiling is going to be, which is very useful for a scout.
As the draft approaches, Flores will have meetings with scouts from different regions around the country, then he and his staff will meet in St. Louis to finalize their draft board. According to Flores, the Cardinals will not be holding pre-draft workouts for players this season because the team wants him to use the time to get information on what the players are looking for in their bonus.
Despite this being his first draft, Flores is not nervous. As a matter of fact, he is actually very excited about the prospect of finding the right players for the Cardinals organization. Flores is also thankful that the team has a lot of draft picks to work with, which makes his job significantly easier.
