Nathan Flewelling was flexing at the All-Star Futures Game.

The Major League Baseball (MLB) event on July 12th - part of the 2026 All-Star festivities at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia - showcases the top prospects in the game and Flewelling made the most of his only at bat in the sixth inning by launching a two-run homer over the right-field fence with two out.

The Innisfail, Alberta product and former catcher with the Sylvan Lake Gulls of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) helped boost the American League Futures to a 6-1 victory over the National League Futures and secured the Larry Doby Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award as a result.

“It was a complete honour to be here, obviously amongst some really talented players,” said the No. 2 prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays system during an interview with MLB.com.

“Just very grateful to be here. And it was a pretty surreal moment being able to do that.”

Flewelling, who was presented the award by Hall-of-Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., said in a post-game press conference that he was trying to soak in the event as much as possible.

"I wanted to kind of take a piece from everybody and better myself and gain the experience of being here, so hopefully when the day comes it's just smooth sailing and I go right into it, so I just wanted to take away the experience and obviously learn a bit from the great coaches and the great players here," said the 6-foot-2 lefty slugger.

"Being here under the bright lights is really cool and letting all the hard work pay off and just playing free is what's allowed me to just do that."

The 19-year-old backstop, a third-round pick of the Rays in the 2024 MLB Draft, has been having an outstanding season with the High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods. Through 73 games, Flewelling has 52 runs, 16 long balls, 12 doubles, 47 runs batted in (RBI), 55 walks and a .394 on-base percentage.

In breaking down his blast during the Futures Game, Flewelling admitted he was hunting a fastball.

“He had just walked a guy, and I knew he was going to try to be aggressive,” Flewelling said of the 96-mph offering from pitcher Wen-Hui Pan.

“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.”

Flewelling also told reporter Anthony Castrovince that he has a long ways to go before he realizes his dream of playing in the major leagues.

“Obviously I'm still young, and I think there's a long ways to go in my development,” noted Flewelling.

“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.”

Flewelling was the winner of the 2023 Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby and he made a big impact as a 17-year-old with the Gulls in just 20 WCBL games in 2024. That season he swatted five home runs, produced 19 RBI and posted a .329 batting average.

During an interview with Alberta Dugout Stories earlier this year, the St. Joseph Academy graduate said he went to work on his game following his first pro season in 2025.

“I made some swing adjustments – nothing crazy – just trying to dial in my bat path to try to limit some swing-and-miss a little bit, then just continue working on my catching,” said Flewelling.

“Just take it one day at a time and continue to build off what I did last year,” he added.

“As long as I keep the same things that I was doing last year and the same routines, I think I’m going to have the same kind of year and hopefully be even better.”

After finding his power groove this season, and showing it off in the Futures Game, Flewelling seems to have taken his game to the next level.

It's a bright future indeed.