Jack

Flaherty

Troy Johnson and TJ Rumfield homered off him. Flaherty ends the spring with a 7.92 ERA, having given up four homers in 12 2/3 innings. It doesn’t mean all that much, but it doesn’t make him look like any better of bet for a 2026 after he was already a well below average starter last year.

Tarik Skubal will pitch on opening day against the Padres in San Diego. He’ll be followed by Valdez and Jack Flaherty. Justin Verlander will then open their series against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on March 30 and he’ll be followed by Casey Mize. Despite the injuries to Reese Olson and Troy Melton, this is perhaps the strongest starting rotation that we have seen the Tigers field in the past decade which has to make them the favorites in the American League Central.

He struck out three and walked one on the day while posting a 22 percent whiff rate and 24 percent CSW. As per usual, most of his success was thanks to his slider, which had a 56 percent whiff rate. He threw enough strikes, but his fastball got hit hard, and the ceiling for Flaherty seems low for fantasy outside of deeper formats.

Flaherty had a 37% CSW and allowed just one hard-hit ball today, and he’s now struck out eight in five innings on the spring. The 30-year-old is looking for a bounce-back season after going 8-15 with a 4.64 ERA last year and then exercising a $20 million player option to remain with the Tigers.

Flaherty was mad that one his strike threes was challenged by Phillies minor leaguer Dylan Campbell and said something about it. It didn’t seem entirely appropriate, but the pitch was a clear strike, and it was really Campbell’s team that should have been upset with him. Flaherty has allowed two runs in three innings to open the spring.

The 30-year-old right-hander struck out one (Colton Cowser) and didn’t walk a batter. The lone hit that he allowed was a two-out solo homer by Heston Kjerstad. What’s exciting to take away is that Flaherty exhibited increased velocity on all of his pitches, with his fastball averaging 93.7 mph (+0.8 mph) and his slider sitting at 93.7 mph (+2.2 mph). Of course it was only one inning of work, so it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s something to monitor as the spring progresses.

Flaherty will remain with Detroit for at least one additional season after signing a two-year, $35 million pact last offseason to return to the Tigers after winning a World Series title with the Dodgers. The 30-year-old righty recorded an underwhelming 4.64 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 188/59 K/BB ratio across 161 innings over 31 starts this past season. He’ll aim to put together a rebound campaign before testing the open market again next offseason.

Flaherty could have been pulled down 2-0 in the third, but he bounced back that inning to strike out Julio Rodríguez and Jorge Polanco with two on and then benefitted from Josh Naylor’s 394-foot drive to right-center, which would have been a homer in 11 ballparks, being caught on the track at Comerica. He was then left in for the fourth, which started with a homer and a walk before Flaherty struck out Victor Robles and was pulled. The inherited runner came around to score off Tommy Kahnle. The loss leaves Flaherty 2-6 with a 5.24 ERA lifetime in the postseason.

He’ll be followed by Casey Mize in Game 4 (if necessary) on Wednesday. Tarik Skubal would then get the call if the series goes to a decisive fifth game back in Seattle on Friday evening. Flaherty is coming off of a strong outing against the Guardians in the Wild Card round where he allowed just one run on three hits over 4 2/3 quality frames.

The 29-year-old right-hander punched out four batters on the afternoon while issuing a pair of walks. The lone tally against him came on an RBI single by Jose Ramirez on a 3-2 pitch with first base open in the fourth inning. Flaherty got seven whiffs on 74 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 31 percent. The next time that he takes the mound will come against the Mariners in the Division Series.