Jack Flaherty's 2nd Half Turnaround Makes the Cardinals True NL Contenders

The St. Louis Cardinals were arguably the most inconsistent club in all of baseball before the All-Star break. With the Cubs and Brewers also struggling to find their footing, the NL Central was BEGGING for a team to grab it by the neck.

Fast forward to late August and that still remains the case, though the Cards and Cubs are beginning to separate themselves from the Brew Crew.

What's been at the forefront of St. Louis' resurgence, however, has been the sheer domination of Jack Flaherty.

The 23-year-old right-hander improved to 8-6 on the year with an imposing outing against the Rockies on Friday during which he fanned nine batters over six innings of work. He's conceded just one earned run in his past 34 innings and hasn't lost a decision since July 7, when he surrendered just two hits and one run against the Giants.

Flaherty has flaunted a microscopical 0.28 ERA in August and his surge has the Cards in pole position to threaten the likes of the Dodgers and Braves in the National League should they make the playoffs, of course.

Everybody knows that you can't win in October without a profound ace at the top of your rotation and St. Louis can now, without reluctance, say they have one. A one-two punch of Flaherty and Dakota Hudson should strike fear into the heart of any opponent.