3 STL Cardinals still giving encouraging signs and 2 who are failing

1. Jack Flaherty has been downright dominant on the hill for the Cardinals

It wasn’t all that long ago that the conversation around Jack Flaherty was that the St. Louis Cardinals should try and trade him, if there was even any team desperate enough to make a deal for the 27-year-old righty. The velocity on his pitches was worrisome in its decline while he simply wasn’t getting guys out consistently.

Either all of that discussion lit a fire under Flaherty, he fixed something in his mechanics, or an act of divine intervention has happend. Because over his last few starts, he’s been one of the best pitchers in baseball with the numbers he’s put up.

Including the shutdown outing that led to a 1-0 win over the Rangers in the finale of that series, Flaherty has posted a 1.50 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP. Over 30 innings, he’s allowed just five earned runs in those start, really giving the Cardinals a chance to win the game with any semblance of offensive production whenever he’s been on the hill.

In truth, the majority of the starting rotation has started to round into form after a disastrous overall start, but the emergence of this iteration of Flaherty has been huge. If the Cardinals are going to turn it around, they need to keep themselves in games early on with their starters, which is what the 27-year-old has been doing dominantly.