Recapping A Strong Week For Southern League Pitcher of the Week JC Flowers

When the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted JC Flowers in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft, he didn't have much experience pitching. However, now that it is his main focus, he was honored this last week for a hot start, being named the Southern League Low-A Ball Pitcher of the Week.

Every year, the Major League Baseball draft produces some interesting stories about guys making their trip to Major League Baseball. In 2019, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted one of these types of players when they took right-handed pitcher JC Flowers in the fourth round. He spent most of his time as a centerfielder at Florida State and was a career .245 hitter with 15 home runs and 99 RBI for the Seminoles. He didn't have much experience on the mound, besides being a closer and working 26.2 innings his junior year, pitching to a 1.69 ERA. The Pirates saw these numbers, and jumped on them, drafting him as a right-handed pitcher as the 124th overall pick.

The team saw a fastball that can reach the mid-90s, but more often sits in the low 90s, and jumped on the opportunity. Flowers has taken his new role in stride and was rewarded for his hard work by being named the Southern League Low-A Pitcher of the Week. He made two appearances out of the bullpen during that first week and did not allow a running six innings of work while giving up two hits and striking out seven batters. Flowers has not yet walked a better in his three total appearances this season and is using a fastball/slider mix while working in a change-up that he has been developing. Today, we look at Flowers's big first week in Low-A Ball, and what he is projected to do the rest of the season for the Marauders.

Out To A Hot Start

For Flowers, his professional baseball debut did not exactly go the way he had hoped with the West Virginia Black Bears. In short-season ball, Flowers went 0-2 with a 4.30 ERA in nine games, eight starts, spanning 29.1 innings of work. The home run ball plagued him in his nine games as he gave up five home runs and a total of 12 extra-base hits. He had decent control, with a walk rate of 8.3%, but he was getting hit around at a .282 clip and was getting hit hard. He couldn't locate his fastball in the zone, and as a result, it got hit hard more often than not. He did not get a chance to work at the alternate site, so he went back to his hometown of Orange Park, Florida, and would have to work on his own.

Whatever work he put in has seemingly paid off, as through three appearances, he has just a 1.00 ERA over 9.0 innings and has 11 strikeouts during that timeframe. At 22-years-old, he is one of the prospects who lost valuable development time due to the shutdown, but a hot start to the season should raise his value in the organization. He made his season debut coming on in relief on Opening Night against Fort Meyers. He came on in the fourth inning and went right to work retiring the first eight batters he faced. He was very efficient, with just one three-ball count in those first eight hitters while striking out one. He allowed his first hit of the day with two outs in the sixth but finished up the tidy outing with a groundout to strand the runner in scoring position. He pounded the strike zone throughout the night, throwing 64% of his pitches for strikes and sitting more consistently in the mid-90s more than he had throughout his career.

His next appearance for Bradenton came three days later as he came on for three innings of relief. He posted very similar numbers to his first start, going 3.0 innings while allowing just one hit and striking out four batters. He was even more efficient than the outing before, throwing nearly 68% of his pitches for strikes, and his power slider played well to opposing batters. He came in in the seventh inning with his team down by one and gave them a chance to win. He threw 1-2-3 seventh and ninth innings, and the only hit he did allow on the day was a leadoff single in the eighth. He never went higher than a two-ball count with any hitter he faced and capped off what was a dominant week for the 22-year-old.

Flowers' Projection Moving Forward

As far as where Flowers goes from here, the thought inside the organization is that he develops into a starting pitcher. He made eight starts last season for the West Virginia Black Bears and struggled, so the Marauders are trying to ease him back into the role. In his first three outings of the year, Flowers has gone three innings each time and, after throwing 30 pitches each his first two outings, he was ramped up to around 50 pitches his last time out. In Low-A, the goal is to get the pitchers as many innings as they can, and that is why Flowers has been out of the bullpen instead of starting. As the season progresses, he will most likely flip roles and go into the Marauder's starting rotation.

The biggest thing for Flowers to work on is developing that go-to secondary pitch that he can consistently use. His fastball is nice in the mid to low 90s, and his slider has started coming around as of late. It is a strong pitch that is in the 80s and offers a nice speed difference from his fastball. However, in the past, he has had trouble controlling the pitch, which led to a lot of his struggle in Short-Season ball. He is also working on a change-up, but that pitch is still in the very early stages of development. As a starter, you would like to have three reliable pitches in your arsenal, and with the little pitching experience Flowers had in the past, now is the time to work on those pitches.

At 22-years-old, Flowers shouldn't spend a whole lot of time at Low-A Bradenton this year. If he continues this success through the month of June, we should see him move to Greensboro, and depending on how well he does possibly Altoona. The big thing for Flowers is showing that he has the stamina to be a starting pitcher. He has only gone five innings once in his career, and that was during his final start with the West Virginia Black Bears. If he starts to fade out in the later innings, it may be better for the Pirates to use him as a closer like he was at Florida State. Flowers still has a lot of development to do, but he is hoping to one day make an impact in PNC Park.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (16-22) continue their four-game weekend set against the San Francisco Giants (23-15) tonight at 6:35 pm. Tyler Anderson (3-3, 3.05) looks to stay consistent on the mound as he faces his old team going up against Johnny Cueto (2-1, 3.52). You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter at @Buccos_Cove.