Flaherty impressed while throwing 50 pitches in a "B" game against the Astros on Friday, following a poor showing in his first Grapefruit League start, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports. "Very favorable," manager Mike Shildt said. "Everything was a lot crisper. Fastball had some good life to it, getting it by guys. Slider on the plate more, breaking out of the hand better."

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander hadn't pulled any punches when describing his performance in Sunday's Grapefruit League opener against the Nationals, labeling his performance that day as "horrible". Consequently, Flaherty's performance Friday amounted to a bit of a sigh of relief, even in the wake of what was just one poor outing. Shildt particularly praised Flaherty's ability to control counts much better than in his debut, when he'd retired just one of eight batters.