Diagnosing the Disch: For Jalin Flores, it's time to put it all together

In an offseason that saw key move after key move to help secure the future of Texas baseball after the firing of David Pierce, one part of the 2025 roster sticks out more than most.

[BOOKMARK: Check Inside Texas daily for FREE Texas Longhorns content]

A common idea used in the current state of college football with NIL and money running rampant is that your biggest additions in the offseason are the players you keep in town, not the ones you bring in. This was felt for Texas football fans when Steve Sarkisian returned players like Malik Muhammad, Trey Moore, and Ryan Wingo.

For Texas baseball, the most important offseason roster move came in the form of the return of shortstop Jalin Flores.

Flores was the team’s best recruit from the 2022 class and became a key rotational player in his true freshman season, playing a lot of DH and gunning for playing time over shortstop Mitchell Daly. Flores was seen as a year-two breakout candidate for obvious reasons. He was a highly-rated recruit, had tons of raw power, and sported a 6-foot-2 frame at arguably the most important position on the field.

These dreams of a star at shortstop were actualized in 2024. Flores became the best-hitting shortstop of the Pierce era, batting .340 with a 1.064 OPS and 40 extra base hits. He was arguably the most valuable shortstop since David Hamilton, now a key part of the Boston Red Sox major league team.

Flores had an outstanding year headlined by a .314 average and 14 RBI in his final 11 games of the season. With Flores turning 21 in the summer of 2024, he became eligible for the 2024 MLB Draft and seemed like a lock to be taken in the first four rounds. That kind of bat at a premium position is hard to pass up on for MLB teams.

But when Flores failed to be drafted in the first two rounds, he made a tough decision, one that many Texas baseball fans will love him for. Even with a new head coach and a team in flux, Flores decided to return to the 40 Acres, likely for one last season.

With Texas adding double-digit transfers in the offseason, it would be easy to say that someone like Jared Spencer was the best addition to the team. But retaining Flores was the biggest win of the entire offseason for Texas on the player side of things.

Flores returns to town with big aspirations, already being selected to the pre-season Golden Spikes Award watchlist. Flores is probably the best-hitting shortstop in the country, outside of maybe Alabama’s budding superstar Justin Lebron. Flores’ main hole in his game is on the defensive side of the ball, where he comfortably led the 2024 team in errors.

Schlosssnagle made a point of bringing up Flores in his early pressers this year. He knew how big of a win it was to have him return to Austin, but also sees plenty of room for improvement. For such a large player, he sometimes fails to fully tap into his power potential, and there was obviously a ton of work put into his glove throughout the fall. Flores has already hit his breakout year last year, now it’s time to become a true star. If Texas can have him and Max Belyeu continue to take the next step, this offense could be lethal.

[Join Inside Texas TODAY and get 7 days for just ONE DOLLAR!]

There’s not much to talk about outside of Flores at short. He was second in the team in total at-bats in 2024 and started every game. There’s no reason to think that will change. Still, keep an eye on Carson Luna. Schlossnagle has made it a point of emphasis that he likes to recruit players that look like MLB players, and Luna does that with a 6-foot-1 frame. Luna doesn’t possess the power that Flores does, but he’s already the superior fielder in Austin. If something were to happen to J Flo, Luna would be the next man up.