Possible reason for Jack Flaherty bounceback still doesn't give Tigers answers

Detroit Tigers fans have been forced to watch the ups and down of starting pitcher Jack Flaherty all season. Thankfully, there have been more ups than downs as of late, but fans shouldn't get too excited about this development just yet. 

Eno Sarris of The Athletic recently looked at several pitchers whose stuff has improved as of late and Flaherty made the list thanks in large part to his increased velocity. Sarris notes that Flaherty has seen an uptick in his fastball and slider velocity, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as a shock that his last three outings have been more respectable as he’s allowed six earned runs in 15 and 2/3 innings of work.

The overall numbers still aren’t super pretty as he’s got a 5.31 ERA in 14 starts and really struggled early on this season. He’s struck out 77 batters and walked 33 as opponents are hitting .265 against him.

While it is encouraging to see some better results from Flaherty, the uptick in velocity may not be all that sustainable. His velocity has swung up and down wildly throughout the season and throughout his career, so it doesn’t seem like this is going to be some linear uptick. There’s going to be fluctuation and that will probably lead to some inconsistent results.

Tigers need Jack Flaherty to keep pitching well to keep playoff hopes alive

The Tigers have really had to lean on Flaherty recently because the rest of the starting rotation has been so banged up. Fans saw how good he can be during the first half of 2024, so there was hope he could find his old form. But at this point in his career he may not be capable of being the consistent starter he used to be.

Thankfully, some help is on the way as Tarik Skubal is set to return from his injury soon. His remarkably speedy recovery is a huge boost to the rotation and the team right as the Tigers have shown signs that they are climbing out of the early season hole they dug for themselves.

But if they have any legitimate hopes of making the playoffs or at least staying in the hunt, then they will need contributions from the entire rotation. That means Flaherty will somehow have to bottle up whatever he’s found as of late and keep on using it throughout the season. And he'll need to adapt if he sees his velocity affected again.

Perhaps a deeper unit around him will help. Time will tell. But there aren't telltale signs of a bounceback with this data.

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