With a clean slate, the former ace is once again producing like a front-line pitcher.

When Jack Flaherty struck out an AL-record seven straight batters to begin the game against the Cardinals on April 30 and struck out a career-high 14 hitters against his former team, we got a glimpse at the old version of Flaherty.

Flaherty burst onto the scene with the Cardinals in 2018-19 — a stretch where the right-hander from Southern California had a 3.01 ERA in 61 starts, finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in the first year and fourth in Cy Young Award voting in the latter year. The fact that he did so in his age 22-23 seasons made it all the more impressive for what looked like a burgeoning ace.

Flaherty’s career went a bit off the rails after his ’19 season, however, largely due to injuries that limited him to just 154 2/3 innings from 2020-22. But even his return as a full-time pitcher in 2023 yielded results that were a far cry from his peak years, a season where Flaherty had a 4.99 ERA in 29 games for the Cardinals and Orioles.

Flaherty signed a one-year deal with the Tigers over the offseason and has so far rewarded Detroit with a 3.88 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings heading into his start on Saturday night at Arizona. What’s even more encouraging is Flaherty has underlying ERA indicators that show his run prevention could be even better going forward.

Flaherty’s 2.11 expected FIP — which looks at a pitcher’s FIP but uses projected home-run rate instead of actual home runs allowed — is tops among qualified starters. Flaherty’s 2.98 expected ERA — based on an opposing hitter’s quality and quantity of contact — also pegs him as a top-20 starter, as does his 2.94 FIP. Essentially, his 3.88 ERA is good, but it could be much better.

Here’s how Flaherty has seemingly put his career back on the right track and gotten back to his old ways.