Jack Flaherty set for MLB debut as Cardinals youth movement continues
SAN FRANCISCO — Don’t tell Mike Matheny the St. Louis Cardinals are on the fringe of contention, even if they’re no closer than five games from a playoff spot.
As a manager and former player, Matheny is trained to focus on the day’s game and keep striving until the schedule runs out. Plus, when you represent the Cardinals, playoff participants in six of the last eight years, October baseball is simply part of the expectation.
“There’s no fringe,’’ Matheny said before Thursday’s 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a four-game series. “We’re right in the middle of it, so we’re going to put the best team out there we can each night to win. This isn’t a young-guy showcase. This is what’s going to give us our best chance.’’
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Trade: Mariners acquire pitcher Mike Leake
Matheny was referring to the scheduled debut on Friday night of 21-year-old Jack Flaherty, ranked as the Cardinals’ third-best prospect. He will take the rotation spot vacated by Wednesday’s trade of right-hander Mike Leake to the Seattle Mariners.
In replacing a veteran with a rookie, the Cardinals are trying to strike a balance between looking ahead to the future and remaining competitive in hopes of making a late playoff push.
St. Louis saved $38 million in future contract obligations with the swap, and Leake had fared poorly after a hot start, going 2-9 with a 5.78 ERA from June on. But the trade didn’t sit well with some of the team’s players, with outfielder Tommy Pham telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch his reaction was, “‘Is this a joke? April Fools was months ago.’ It was shocking to all of us.’’
Others, like pitcher Lance Lynn, pointed out the Cardinals had made no additions before the trade deadline. The club was 52-53 at the time, before an eight-game winning streak thrust it back into serious contention, and even briefly into a tie for first place in the National League Central.
St. Louis has gone 6-10 since then to fall six games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs and five games back of the second wild card. The Cardinals now have a rotation featuring only one pitcher older than 26 in Lynn, as erstwhile staff ace Adam Wainwright remains sidelined by an elbow impingement.
And they’re entering September with their youngest pitcher to make a debut start since Rick Ankiel in 1999. Flaherty, the 34th overall pick in the 2014 draft, turns 22 on Oct. 15. He joins fellow right-hander Luke Weaver, 24, as rookies in the starting corps.
“Weaver’s really responded well to his innings, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about Flaherty,’’ veteran infielder Matt Carpenter said. “When you get an opportunity to see some young guys come up and do well, sometimes that can be something that jolts a team. Hopefully that’s what we get from these guys.’’
The Cardinals could use the extra shot of energy, considering the Cubs have finally asserted themselves as the class of the division — going 30-15 since the All-Star break — and the wild-card spots remain in the grip of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Even the upstart Milwaukee Brewers, fellow Central neighbors, stand ahead of St. Louis.
So this might be the most propitious time for the Cardinals to find out what they have in Flaherty, one of five or six September call-ups they’re planning on. Matheny said the club wanted to promote players at a time when they’re thriving, and Flaherty certainly qualifies.
After overwhelming Class AA hitters — he went 7-2 with a 1.42 ERA and a 0.916 WHIP in 10 starts — Flaherty more than held his own upon being promoted to Class AAA Memphis, where he posted the same record with a 2.74 ERA in 15 starts. In the final eight, his ERA was just 1.98.
His four-pitch repertoire includes an improved changeup that plays well off his mid-90s fastball.
“It’s been another weapon to supplement, to throw in different counts, kind of go to it to catch guys off balance,’’ Flaherty said. “The development of the confidence to be able to throw it and to want to throw it, I think that’s where everything comes into play.’’
Flaherty’s steady progression through the Cardinals’ well-stocked system may put him on pace to compete for a spot on what projects as a youthful rotation next season, with Alex Reyes – who has been out all year following Tommy John surgery — possibly joining the likes of Carlos Martinez, Wacha and Weaver. Wainwright is under contract for next year but Lynn will be a free agent after the World Series.
Carpenter, in his seventh season with the club, understands how the organization operates and sounded more accepting of the Leake trade.
“The reality is we have a ton of guys pushing on the brink of the big leagues and not a lot of spots for them, and that opened up one,’’ he said. “I think that’s what that move was made for more than anything.’’
Gallery: Players traded after July 31 deadline