Former Detroit Tigers Starting Pitcher Has Found Success Mastering One Pitch
It is hard to blame the Detroit Tigers for trading away starting pitcher Jack Flaherty ahead of the deadline at the end of July.
The team was trending in the wrong direction and it made sense to cash in on the one-year deal he signed as a free agency, trading him for solid prospects. Trey Sweeney, one of the players acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers, was their starting shortstop in the postseason.
But, it is still easy to wonder “what-if” when it comes to Flaherty.
Would the Tigers have had an even deeper run with another reliable starter behind Tarik Skubal in the rotation?
Fans will debate that, but what was done was done. The talented righty is now leading the Dodgers rotation in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.
Flaherty took the mound for Game 1 and was dominant. He threw seven shutout innings, allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out six.
His production has been solid for Los Angeles since they acquired him, as he made 10 regular season starts, going 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA across 55.1 innings. He added 61 strikeouts, but walks were an issue.
Flaherty handed out as many free passes with the Dodgers, 19, as he did with the Tigers despite throwing 51.1 fewer innings.
The issue has carried over into the postseason, but he has been able to work around it for the most part. What has helped him overcome his walk issues? A truly remarkable curveball.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN shared some statcast standouts from the LCS to this point. Flaherty was one of the pitchers he highlighted for his ability to master one dominant pitch. He has worked his breaking pitches into the mix because of improvements with his fastball.
“I wrote about Flaherty's transformation during the NLDS and the main adjustment he made this season. Essentially, he's throwing a better-shaped fastball in the zone more, getting ahead, and then throwing his slider and curveball out of the zone more, inducing more chases and misses on both. That's a winning formula, but it can also be explained in one key number. On a per-pitch basis, Flaherty had the best curveball in baseball this season (plus-2.1 runs per 100 curveballs thrown) while last season it ranked 51st (plus-0.1 runs per 100 curveballs thrown or almost exactly league average). It's not always velocity and movement driving a gaudy Statcast number: These metrics can also measure success from doing the things you were taught in Little League,” the MLB expert wrote.
When pitchers can get ahead in the count, they are in control. Flaherty has found the right mix to put him in advantageous situations and he is making the most of it.
He has reinvented himself and gotten his career back on track. If he continues helping Los Angeles advance and pitches like this in his future starts, his price tag is only going to go up in free agency.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.