Flaherty is tabbed as a potential ace of the Cardinals' staff by team beat writer Anne Rogers, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander was arguably already worthy of the title during the second half of last season, during which he posted an 0.91 ERA, .142 BAA and 124:23 K:BB across 99.1 post-All-Star-break frames. Flaherty ultimately finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting, and he was set for an Opening Day start before play was suspended. Rogers notes the one missing component for Flaherty's ascension to the next level is consistency, as the 24-year-old posted an elevated 4.64 ERA in the first half of the 2019 campaign. As such, Flaherty emphasized through the offseason and spring training that staying strong from start to finish was his main focus coming into 2020, and he'll still look to make good on that vow during what projects to be an abbreviated season.