Jack Flaherty Is Worth A Top 100 Prospect
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00:00He said, but when you're 500, you live and die every game because you feel like you should
00:05be better.
00:06You see the wins, but they're always followed by losses.
00:08This team's been playing really well lately.
00:10They've been scoring runs and they've had some young players blossom.
00:13But perhaps the most significant thing that's happened in a while was yesterday's Jack Flaherty
00:18appearance.
00:20Because Flaherty, if he's injured, doesn't have a lot of trade value, if any.
00:26They're going to get low ball offers and teams aren't going to want to give up much for an
00:29injured rental.
00:32And he has had some back issues.
00:36But he came back yesterday with a vengeance.
00:39Lived in the mid-90s with his fastball, threw 80-something pitches, six innings, two hits,
00:45four strikeouts, one earned run.
00:47Two walks.
00:48And it came on a solo home run.
00:51And after the game said, yeah, he felt great physically.
00:54Yeah, he just didn't give up any hard contact other than that home run.
00:58I mentioned the two walks because that's probably the part of the stat line that stands
01:02out to me because he doesn't walk, guys.
01:05But first time back and got the job done.
01:10Base runners were hard to come by for Cleveland.
01:12The bullpen came in, did their job, and the Tigers come away with a win.
01:16And the big story is Jack Flaherty looks like he's healthy.
01:21And it's kind of bittersweet for him because I feel terrible.
01:25We're excited that he's healthy so we can trade him.
01:28And it feels wrong to be of that mindset and yet it's kind of where they're at unless they're
01:33able to work out some kind of extension with him before the trade deadline if that's what
01:38they intend to do, okay.
01:43But even then I'd start to be a little leery because it's just like two years in a row
01:46that he's had back issues and he's had injections.
01:50But I love what we've seen from Jack Flaherty this year has been more than a pleasant surprise.
01:56He's been the surprise of the Detroit baseball team.
02:00Because if you looked at his track record and you saw it's so up and down, up and down,
02:03up and down, and really based on his health when he pitched more he was better.
02:09I think with just one season of exception.
02:12What was he going to be like?
02:13And he started off the season just on fire striking out everybody and still has this
02:18crazy ratio.
02:19It's like 115 strikeouts to 14 walks or something.
02:22It's amazing what he's done.
02:24So you try to gauge what actual trade value he has and then today MLB trade rumors after
02:32that start yesterday had an updated list of the top 50 trade candidates for the 2024 Major
02:39League Baseball trade deadline.
02:41Their ranking as they wrote is more of a blend of the likelihood of a deal and impact of
02:46the player in question.
02:47The names atop the list are going to be those that seem both most likely to move and carry
02:53the potential for significant impact on the acquiring team.
02:56The number one player in Major League Baseball atop this list is now Jack Flaherty.
03:02And they do mention how important yesterday's start was.
03:07And this is what they write.
03:08He's been one of the best pitchers in MLB and while some back discomfort served as a
03:12brief red flag he avoided a trip to the IL and returned to the mound with six innings
03:16of two run ball as this list was being finalized.
03:23And only one of the runs were earned, right?
03:24It wasn't even two run balls.
03:25One run was two hit ball.
03:29Anyway, the point being they go on to say Flaherty is the type of playoff caliber starter
03:34who should command a top 100 prospect and then some despite his rental status.
03:40Which got us looking at prospects for teams that need pitchers.
03:44I mean a top 100 prospect and then some?
03:47I mean that's starting to sound like full trade value for Jack Flaherty.
03:53And there are teams that I wouldn't say are likely to trade for him.
03:55The weird thing is we talked about Baltimore earlier and how much we'd love to raid that
03:59system.
04:00Yeah.
04:01Baltimore traded for him last year at the trade deadline.
04:03That's the one thing that people in baseball are a little leery about is does Baltimore
04:08want to trade for him again knowing that the disaster that happened last year?
04:11Yeah.
04:12And it didn't work out.
04:13And would they do it again?
04:16Could you imagine trading for the same player at the trade deadline in back to back years?
04:23The risk of the egg on the face you are if you're Baltimore?
04:26Because if you swing and miss again, I just can't even, I don't know that a GM anywhere
04:31would have the kind of confidence to take that risk even though Baltimore has drafted
04:35and developed as well as anybody.
04:38If I'm Baltimore, I'm not looking at Jack Flaherty.
04:43I'd probably be looking at Scoble or Crochet.
04:48Those options.
04:51Maybe in large part, and maybe this is wrong to think that way, but because of what you
04:54just set up.
04:55Because it was such an unmitigated disaster last year when they traded for Flaherty.
05:00It just totally backfired.
05:01It didn't work.
05:03It's a different Jack Flaherty this year because the one you traded for last year was already
05:06bad.
05:07Yep.
05:08So is it possible Baltimore is still open to a Flaherty trade?
05:12Maybe.
05:13But if I'm Baltimore, I'm probably leaning towards give me what I know is Scoble or Crochet.
05:19Have them under control.
05:20Maybe I can make a deal and I'd feel better about it giving up those prospects that they
05:25have because they're not guys in the major league roster they'd give up, but they are
05:28top prospects that they have to offer.
05:31Yep.
05:32So, I mean, Baltimore's got a lot of nuance that would say no, but they also have the
05:41type of return that the Tigers would be looking for.
05:44St. Louis had them and traded them last year, but their top 100 prospects are mostly pitchers.
05:49The Dodgers have a catcher, Dalton Rushing, a double A could be in play and they're looking
05:53for starting pitching.
05:54I wonder if the Tigers would have access to a top 10 prospect than Jordan Lawler in Arizona
06:01because he fits all the criteria of a high on base percentage guy.
06:05He's a shortstop.
06:06He's 21 years old.
06:07He's a triple A and he has been hurt.
06:10And maybe that would have Arizona saying, okay, all right, we haven't seen him.
06:16We're surviving without him.
06:18And if they want to add to the rotation, yeah.
06:22So that's one to keep an eye on Baltimore.
06:25If they were to do it again, they got Sam Bassalo, the catcher at double A and Kobe
06:29Mayo, who is a corner infielder at double A. Is he double A or triple A?
06:33Triple A.
06:34And he's your preferred guy.
06:36I think if I was looking at all these potential candidates in the tribe, excuse me, the gribe
06:42and the twins are looking.
06:44Houston's got a outfielder, 23-year-old Jacob Melton, who's hits for some power and has
06:50a lot of speed.
06:52He could be a guy, he's a top 50 prospect.
06:54So hey, I always like seeing independent sources that have nothing to do with the Tigers or
07:00Detroit or, you know, not Tiger fan 23 on Twitter suggesting a top 100 prospect.
07:06We will take it.