Atlanta Braves infielder Ryan Flaherty’s ‘love affair’ with April
Atlanta Braves infielder Ryan Flaherty and his “love affair” with April.
Ryan Flaherty is a 32-year-old utility infielder who seemingly found a seat at the end of the Atlanta Braves bench this spring after posting good numbers in spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies (.351/.390/.514). J.P. Crawford is a 23-year-old shortstop with the Phillies who is one of many reasons that Flaherty was let go by the team.
Crawford managed a slash line in Florida that trailed Flaherty’s by an average of 117 points in the pertinent categories, but that was good enough for him to keep the shortstop’s job the Phillies had determined at least last December was Crawford’s to lose.
Crawford had long been the heir apparent to Freddy Galvis at short in Philly. He was “the future.” He had a tremendous ceiling. You all know the phrases.
Flaherty, on the other hand, is a fellow whose career had always made him the 23rd player on the roster – or 24th. He reached the majors at the age of 25, and in six years with the Baltimore Orioles played seven different positions if DH is a position. His peak year in game appearances was four years ago when he touched 102. His peak batting average was .224 in 2013, but his fielding had always been pretty impressive – maybe “solid” is the right word – he had only 21 errors in 1367 chances all over the field through 2017 (.985).
So, an early season, fun question to ask is how are their decisions about Ryan Flaherty working out for the Phillies and Braves so far?
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As is often the case in the early season, the answers are hilarious – unless you happen to be J.P. Crawford or his GM, Matt Klentak.
Crawford’s slash line before play Apr. 7 is .053/.100/.053 in six games. He has a hit, a walk, six strikeouts and two errors. The future is still in the future, or at least Phillies fans hope that’s the case.
Ryan Flaherty, on the other hand, showed up in my morning paper as (drumroll, please) the second leading hitter in the NL. He’s hitting .435.
Well, no he isn’t. As is often the case with print newspapers, the line under “NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS” read “Friday’s Games Not Included,” and the Braves played Apr. 6. Flaherty played third in that game and didn’t get a hit, so his average plummeted to .400. However, he walked three times and scored a run, so his OBP is currently .516, and his SLG is .560.
Best of all, perhaps, is the fact he has only played third base for the Atlanta Braves this year.
Next: Is Beltre the most under the radar (future) MLB Hall of Famer?
Yes, yes, it’s early, but Ryan Flaherty is having the time of his life.