The TopDrawerSoccer.com Homegrown Watch returns with a look at three of the most promising MLS academy players. This week, we take a glimpse at an overlooked midfielder in Texas, an uncertain future in California and a center back in Seattle who’s overcome his lack of height with a very good academy career.

Juan Flores, Houston Dynamo

It’s easy enough to see the Dynamo academy and zero in on Christian Lucatero. The midfielder/forward hybrid is one of the most prized recruits on the continent, and two national federations are currently chasing his commitment. But that subtly undermines the good work the Dynamo have done especially in the last four years in cultivating a growing academy. Despite the first team’s reticence to take on development projects, there are a handful of worthy Homegrown candidates coming up through the ranks.

One of the most promising is Flores. The skillful midfielder was part of the 2012-13 U16 Dynamo team that stunned heavily favored RBNY and knocked them out of the playoffs. At the end of last year, he was named to the Central Conference’s U16 Best XI. As a U18 player he’s been an irrepressible threat with 13 goals in Houston’s 23 matches this season. Flores is a versatile player who thrives in creative roles, and he’s been known to bang in a golazo or two. If the Dynamo are looking for the No. 2 prospect currently in their system, they found him in Flores.

Michael Flores, Chivas USA

LAFC recently drove the final nail into Chivas USA’s academy as it was known. The nascent club slated to come online in 2017 had an opportunity (how real of one is up for debate) to assume command of Chivas USA’s academy, one of the nation’s best. But U18 coach Brian Kleiban’s migration to the LA Galaxy and LAFC’s refusal to take on Chivas USA’s dying academy doomed its players to a future that’s only somewhat clear. If LAFC wanted to drive the rest of the city’s top prospects into the waiting arms of the Galaxy, it did a pretty good job.

Flores will be off to the next level by the time he has a chance to switch allegiances to the Galaxy (or any other academy), but he’s certainly making good use of his final season in the DA. He has 17 goals and remains one of the most robust attacking players in the nation. The question is what his Homegrown rights mean. MLS is opaque on this matter, but it’s likely that Flores is simply a free agent at the end of the season. So while he might not end up on the list of Homegrown signings after it’s all over, that’s through no fault of his own. Flores is good enough to sign anywhere.

Tosh Samkange, Seattle Sounders

The loudest debate with central defenders at the next level tends to rotate around size. Teams can navigate around less-than-stellar foot skills or slightly slower recognition abilities, but you can’t teach height. The need on set pieces, crosses and general aerial challenges is great, especially in a bigger league like MLS that tends to value out-and-out athleticism over other traits.

The good news is that the template for smaller center backs in MLS exists, and his name is AJ DeLaGarza. The LA Galaxy center back is one of the league’s best, and at sub-6-foot size, he’s doing it without the height to match some of the league’s bigger forwards. That’s Samkange. At 5-foot-11, the central defender is one of the Sounders U18 team’s steadiest players, and he’ll take those abilities to Denver next season. He’s a hard-nosed tackler with solid feet and a good eye for the game, which tends to cover for his size. He’ll need that at the next level. The possible benefit of playing him on the flanks is there too.

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