Jack Flaherty (baseball)

Jack Flaherty
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher
Born: (1995-10-15) October 15, 1995
Burbank, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Jack Flaherty (born October 15, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.

Early life

Jack attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California. He pitched and played shortstop and third base as a member of the varsity baseball team for all four of his years at Harvard-Westlake. He was a sophomore when two of his high school teammates and fellow pitchers Max Fried and Lucas Giolito were both drafted in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft. During his senior season, Harvard-Westlake was the consensus #1 team in the nation in the MaxPreps "XCellent 50" for much of the beginning of the season, before dropping out of the rankings altogether.[1]

On April 29, 2014, Flaherty pitched a complete game, 2–1 victory over Alemany to bring a two-year win–loss record to 20–0 (W–L).[2] In his last two seasons, his record was 23–0 overall.[3] He finished the 2014 regular season with an 0.69 ERA and 13–0 record on his way to being named Southern Section Division I player of the year. He pitched 78 innings (IP), struck out 125 (SO) batters while giving up just 32 hits and 12 bases on balls (BB). In the first game of the playoffs – which was also the last game of his high school career – he threw a no-hitter against Riverside North. He was subsequently named the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year in baseball for the state of California.[4][5] The Los Angeles Times selected him as their baseball player of the year. In his four years on the mound, his record was 35–3.[5]

Professional career

Although Flaherty signed a letter of intent to attend the University of North Carolina,[6] he ensued his professional career after the Cardinals drafted him in the first round with the 34th overall selection of the 2014 MLB Draft. It was a compensatory pick that the Cardinals gained when Carlos Beltrán signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent.[7] Flaherty signed with the Cardinals on June 17 for a $2 million bonus[8] and began his minor league career with the Cardinals of the Gulf Coast League, where he posted a 1.59 ERA in 22.2 innings pitched. In the July 2014 update of MLB.com's Prospect Watch, he was rated as the fifth best prospect in the Cardinals farm system.[9] Prior to the 2016 season, Baseball America ranked him as the third-best prospect in the Cardinals' system.[10] Flaherty spent 2015 with the Peoria Chiefs where he posted a 9-3 record with a 2.84 ERA.

In their updated 2016 mid-season ranking, Baseball America rated Flaherty in the top-100 for the first time, at 88th.[11]

Flaherty spent the 2016 season with the Palm Beach Cardinals where he posted a 5-9 record with a 3.56 ERA.

References

  1. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (April 29, 2014). "Jack Flaherty tops the hierarchy of Harvard-Westlake pitchers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ Pollon, Jacob (April 29, 2014). "Jack Flaherty in control for Harvard-Westlake baseball". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (June 5, 2014). "Jack Flaherty is final player taken in first round of draft". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (May 27, 2014). "Jack Flaherty is Gatorade state player of the year". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Sondheimer, Eric (June 14, 2014). "Pitcher Jack Flaherty is The Times' baseball player of the year". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  6. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (June 4, 2014). "Harvard-Westlake's Jack Flaherty awaits MLB draft with great interest". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  7. ↑ Trezza, Joe (June 5, 2014). "Cards draft four pitchers in two rounds". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  8. ↑ Cards ink 34th pick Flaherty to $2 million bonus
  9. ↑ "2014 Prospect Watch". Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  10. ↑ Manuel, John (November 16, 2015). "St. Louis Cardinals top 10 prospects". Baseball America. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  11. ↑ Staff Report (July 8, 2016). "Midseason top 100 prospects". Baseball America. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
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