On Tuesday night, Jack Flaherty gave the slumping St. Louis Cardinals five innings, allowing three runs and putting himself in a position to earn a win.
That chance went away when the Chicago Cubs tied things up, but the Cardinals still managed to pick up a win.
After that game, Flaherty got a little bit frustrated when he was asked questions about his fastball velocity, saying that he was simply experimenting with different velocities.
However, many around the Cardinals, including their fans, have found this hard to believe.
On Twitter, a Cardinals fan pointed out some stats that would hurt Flaherty’s case for experimenting with different speeds.
The Jack Flaherty velocity thing is so strange. I don’t believe that he’s actually choosing to throw 87 instead of 95, that would be a bit ridiculous.
Regardless, it has not helped his command. His strike percentage on fastballs under 90 mph is 44%. #STLCards
— Cards Convo ™ (@CardinalsConvo) May 11, 2023
Flaherty had shown a slight decrease in velocity during the game against the Cubs on Tuesday.
Now that the series is over and the Cardinals walked out of Wrigley Field having taken two out of three, it is worth questioning whether or not something else was at play.
Simply choosing to throw a fastball in the upper-80s as opposed to the mid-90s is odd.
Another thing to note is that with fastballs below 90 mph, Flaherty has a strike percentage of just 44%.
Flaherty does possess a high-octane fastball, but it had noticeably decreased in velocity on Tuesday, which rang some alarm bells.
The young right-hander has dealt with more than his fair share of arm injuries, with decreased velocity being a tell-tale sign of an injury more often than not.
St. Louis’ starting pitching has been its Achilles heel this season, with no starter making it through six innings during the last turn through the rotation.
NEXT: The Cardinals Hit A New Low This Week
