A long way from family farm, Rays 19-year-old catcher wins Futures Game MVP

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flewelling family farm in Central Alberta, Canada, was a place to train, feed and wash cattle. It was no place to be seen by big league baseball scouts.

Still, Nathan Flewelling found a way. He applied the work ethic instilled in him on the farm to the diamond, where he caught on as a cold-weather catcher. He endured the harsh winters by growing his game at a baseball academy in Red Deer. He played extensive travel ball. He was the hero of a home run derby at the Canadian Futures Showcase at Rogers Centre, where he punched one off an upper-level porch en route to the crown. And he elicited elite exit velocities at the 2024 MLB Draft Combine, where his industry stock rose.

So when Flewelling sent one over the right-field wall for the lone long ball of the 2026 All-Star Futures Game, helping to power the American League’s 6-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, it was another example of him seizing the stage and continuing a trajectory that isn’t as easy as he’s made it look.

The 19-year-old Rays metaphorical farmhand (TB’s No. 2 prospect, MLB Pipeline’s No. 72 overall) earned the Larry Doby Most Valuable Player Award because of the separation that swat provided in what had been a tight tilt.

“I think, if you're good enough, people will find you,” Flewelling said of his baseball upbringing. “That was my mindset, and that's kind of how it worked.”

There’s no missing this third-round pick from the 2024 MLB Draft now. He became the record-setting third member of the Rays organization to earn the MVP honor in this showcase of the game’s up-and-coming kids, joining Toby Hall (2001) and Brent Honeywell Jr. (2017).

“It was a complete honor to be here, obviously amongst some really talented players,” Flewelling said. “Just very grateful to be here. And it was a pretty surreal moment being able to do that.”

Prior to Flewelling’s blast, the 27th Futures Game had primarily been a showcase of pitching and baserunning.

Managed by Phillies icon Larry Bowa, the AL team got things started off right with a scoreless inning from the game’s top-ranked hurler, Kade Anderson (SEA No. 1, MLB No. 5) and manufactured a pair of runs with the speed of Leo De Vries (ATH No. 1, MLB No. 2) and Nelson Rada (LAA No. 2).

The above-average abilities of De Vries, the shortstop the A’s acquired one year ago this month when they traded Mason Miller to the Padres, were on display immediately.

Batting from the left side against Phillies right-hander Gage Wood (PHI No. 2, MLB No. 51), De Vries lined a single to left, and then was off and running. By the time the next at-bat was over, the 19-year-old De Vries had successfully swiped second and third, then he scored on a groundout from Franklin Arias (BOS No. 1, MLB No. 7) to put the AL ahead, 1-0.

After the NL manufactured a run to tie it in the third, the AL leaned on more speed in the fifth to regain the lead. Rada was aboard via fielder’s choice and promptly stole second with two outs. When Theo Gillen (TB No. 1, MLB No. 9) grounded a single through the hole on the left-hand side, Rada was off and running, hit third in stride and slid headfirst safely into home as the errant throw from left went wide. That gave the AL a 2-1 lead.

Finally, after all that small ball, Flewelling pounced in his only at-bat in the sixth. Facing right-hander Wen-Hui Pan (PHI No. 12), he jumped on the first pitch he saw, a 96-mph heater.

“He had just walked a guy, and I knew he was going to try to be aggressive,” Flewelling said. “I was looking first-pitch heater right down in the zone. And that's where I got it, and the rest is history from there.”

The homer energized the AL squad, which went on to further put the game away with two more insurance runs in the seventh and final inning, including an RBI double off the right-field wall by another 19-year-old, shortstop JoJo Parker (TOR No. 1, MLB No. 27).

Parker, who recently changed his load mechanics to adjust to vertical ride fastballs, smacked a 101.1 mph offering from Nationals right-hander Miguel Sime Jr.

“His curveball buckled me a bit,” Parker said. “So I’m glad he threw me the heater right there.”

Speaking of things that arrive quickly, there are 25 players from the 2025 Futures Game that have appeared in the Majors in 2026. So save the box score from this one and check back in a year.

It might be asking too much of a 19-year-old catcher to rise quite that quickly. But for Flewelling to be in this position at all is a credit to his aptitude and farm-raised diligence.

“Obviously I'm still young, and I think there's a long ways to go in my development,” he said. “I'm still learning every single day, but I don't really put a timeline on it. I'm getting more ready every single day, so I think it could be soon. I'm really willing to impact the Rays team, and I'm excited to get up there one day and hopefully help them out.”