Cardinals' Jack Flaherty Has Been the Most Lights Out Pitcher You've Barely Heard About This Year
By Jerry Trotta
Care to guess how the St. Louis Cardinals have morphed from one of the most inconsistent clubs in all of baseball into the indisputable favorite to hoist the NL Central crown in the span of less than two months?
At the forefront of the Red Birds' surge has been the sheer supremacy of starter Jack Flaherty, who just so happened to spin another gem on Tuesday in a 1-0 victory over the Giants at Busch Stadium.
His post-All-Star break numbers are nothing short of remarkable: 63.1 innings pitch, 32 hits, 16 walks, 79 strikeouts, and an MLB-leading 0.85 ERA.
With apologies to Jacob deGrom and Sonny Gray, the best NL pitcher since the All-Star Game: St. Louis' Jack Flaherty. Post-break stats for the 23-year-old after another gem Tuesday: 63.1 IP, 32 H, 16 BB, 79 K, 0.85 ERA. Flaherty vs. Atlanta's lineup in the NLDS would be glorious.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 4, 2019
On Tuesday, Flaherty tossed eight innings of one-hit ball while striking out eight Giants and walking none. After that outing, the 2014 first-round pick has now made 15 starts in 2019 during which he's lasted six innings or more while holding opposing lineups to four hits or fewer -- good for the most in the NL and third in the majors behind Astros world-beating duo of Justin Verlander (18) and Gerrit Cole (16).
On July 2nd, Jack Flaherty had a 4.90 ERA.
— STLSportsCentral (@stlsportscntrl) September 4, 2019
In the 11 starts after that, he has been unhittable:
0.90 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 70.1 IP, 7 ER
His ERA is now down to 3.14. #STLCards
It's about time the world of baseball puts some respect on his name. It's almost unprecedented for a big league hurler to personify such sovereignty over such a lengthy duration of innings pitched.
As Jeff Passan notes, just imagine the spectacle of Flaherty facing off against the likes of Ronald Acuña Jr., Freddie Freeman, Josh Donaldson and Ozzie Albies (among others) in a potential NLDS showdown.
Sign us UP.