When the Detroit Tigers made the postseason a year ago, they almost did it in spite of their starting rotation. The Tigers had the American League Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal, leading the way. But the rest of the rotation was pieced together using Reese Olson, Casey Mize, and Keider Montero.
The Tigers wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen this season by diving into free agency. But while one addition may never pitch a game for Detroit, another has been proven to be a fraud who could be exposed in the second half.
Jack Flaherty Must Redeem Himself Coming Out of the All-Star Break
Detroit’s mess in 2024 was self-inflicted when they made the decision to trade Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers at last year’s trade deadline. The deal itself was a great move as it brought shortstop Trey Sweeney and top prospect Thayron Liranzo to the Motor City, but it also deprived the Tigers of a key arm as Flaherty was pitching well.
Few could have foreseen the Minnesota Twins blowing a double-digit lead in the American League Wild Card race or the Tigers posting a 34-19 record after the trade deadline. But it also would have made sense to hang on to Flaherty, who went 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA for Detroit last season.
Maybe it was that performance and the 6-2 record with a 3.58 ERA after he was traded to the Dodgers. But the Tigers decided to run it back this offseason, signing Flaherty to a two-year, $35 million contract with an opt-out at the end of this season.
The contract looked like a wise decision early, as Flaherty posted a 2.63 ERA in his first five starts. But the wheels have come off since with a 4.67 ERA in five May starts and a 6.84 ERA in five June outings. Flaherty has pitched better in July with a 3.86 ERA over three appearances but Baseball Savant suggests it might not get better.
While Flaherty is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the game at 29.5%, his walk rate has gone from 5.9% last season to 9.5% this season – closer to the 13.2% and 10.2% walk rates he posted with the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. His average exit velocity of 92.7 mph also ranks in the 25th percentile this season, while his hard-hit rate (batted balls with an exit velocity of 95 mph or greater) jumped from 35.9% last year to 44.3% this year.
The numbers show why Flaherty hasn’t lived up to the expectations when he signed for a second stint with the Tigers last winter. While he’s likely to exercise his option for next season, he could pitch his way out of the rotation by the end of the year and expose himself as the team’s biggest fraud.