Randy Flores’ initial first-round draft selections as the Cardinals’ director of scouting Thursday night legitimately can be considered both surprising and controversial.
The controversial aspect centered on 17-year-old Puerto Rican shortstop Delvin Perez, who was rated a top five selection until it was reported earlier this week that he had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Surely, because of the drug test, Perez, a product of the International Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico, dropped to No. 23 and the Cardinals certainly felt the risk could lead to big reward.
“When you ran those mock drafts a week ago or two weeks ago, this wasn’t one of the scenarios that you see,” said Flores.