The St. Louis Cardinals announced right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty and first baseman Luke Voit have been honored as the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Month for April for their accomplishments on the field.
Flaherty, 21, the Cardinals first round (34th overall) selection out of Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) High School in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft was 4-0 with an 0.56 ERA over five starts at Springfield (AA). The Sherman Oaks, Calif., native ranked 2nd in ERA among all minor league pitchers (30.0 or more innings pitched) posting an outstanding 0.56 mark over 32.1 innings.
The right-hander won his first four starts of the season, posted three scoreless starts of 6.0 innings or more during that stretch and had a streak of 20.2 scoreless innings from April 11-30. He was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week for April 17-23, with two scoreless starts during the week compiling a 2-0 record with 14 strikeouts over 13.2 innings pitched. Flaherty stuck out a season-high nine batters on April 17 vs. Midland.
“Jack was impressive in 32 1/3 innings, striking out 28 hitters with only four walks, leading Springfield to four wins in his five starts,” explained Cardinals Director of Player Development, Gary LaRocque.
Voit, 26, the Cardinals 22nd round pick (665th overall) in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Missouri State University, batted .360 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 23 games at Memphis (AAA).
The St. Louis native currently ranks in the Pacific Coast League Top 10 in batting (.361, 7th), home runs (6, T-5th), total bases (57, 2nd), on-base percentage (.442, 5th), slugging (.687, 4th) and OPS (1.129, 3rd). From April 9-11, Voit homered in three straight games, two of them in the 9th inning, with one of those a go-ahead shot for the game-winning RBI. On April 28, Voit smacked two home runs in a game vs. Round Rock.
“Luke was one of the top hitters in the PCL in April, with a strong on-base percentage, slugging and OPS in his 75 at-bats,” said LaRocque.
Voit has won the Minor League Player of the Month award for the second straight month, earning the honors in August 2016. Flaherty won his first Minor League Pitcher of the Month honor.
