Yankees’ Flores Goes For Cycle on Opening Night

It appears the New York Yankees’ outfield prospect Ramon Flores has wasted little time getting acclimated in the 2015 Minor League season.

Flores, the Yankees’ No. 25 rated prospect on MLB Pipeline, led the charge for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Opening Night. His cycle was the fuel behind the RailRiders 8-3 victory over the Syracuse Chiefs. 

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"“I was excited. It was the first cycle of my career, I was very happy to be able to do that,” Flores told MiLB. Flores came close to a cycle in 2011 for the Charleston RiverDogs, when he fell a triple short. “This time, I got it done.”"

Flores’ road to the cycle went home run in the bottom of the first, single in the bottom of the second, and a leadoff triple in the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the seventh Flores drew a walk, but the RailRiders would makes sure he got one more chance. When Flores came to bat in the bottom of the eighth, he drilled his double to make RailRider history.

The cycle was the first for the RailRiders as a Yankees’ affiliate. The last cycle for SWB came when they were the Red Barons as part of the Phillies’ organization in 2006. Most impressively, Flores started his cycle against the Washington Nationals’ No. 3 prospect A.J. Cole, and the Nationals’ know a thing o two when it comes to pitching prospects. 

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Flores was having a solid season last year for the RailRiders when a lingering ankle sprain sidelined him for three months. He may have been on track to make his Yankees’ debut with all of the injuries in the Bronx. Instead, his own injury derailed his chances. He got right back on track in Game One of 2015.

Flores was invited to the Yankees’ spring training and while he didn’t shine, he did leave a lasting impression. He slashed .239/.314/.413 with two home runs, his last homer being a game winner on March 24th. The Yankees’ have a rather injury prone outfield, and an inconsistent fourth outfielder in Chris Young. Should any of them struggle, Flores could be the first in line to get the call. He certainly showed he is ready last night.