Flaherty should get back to being a top starter

DJ Short talks about the impact of COVID on Jack Flaherty's performance in 2020 and predictions for this upcoming season.

Video Transcript

DJ SHORT: Judging players in a 60-game season is difficult enough. But what about players who are directly impacted by COVID-19 outbreaks? Cardinals right hander Jack Flaherty is a prominent example of this.

While he didn't test positive himself, the outbreak in the Cardinals clubhouse prevented him from pitching for 25 days last season. He had to build back up from there and threw more than five innings just once the rest of the way. Flaherty finished with a 4.91 ERA for the year.

But a lot of that was the result of one bad start, 9 runs allowed and 3 innings against the Brewers. Take that out, and he had a much more palatable 3.13 ERA. With a normal off season and build-up, look for Flaherty to get back to being one of the top fantasy starters.

Remember how great he was in the second half of 2019? That potential is still there. The workload is a question. But you could say that about pretty much every pitcher in baseball this year.