Flaherty, who'll be recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Memphis for his third spot start of the season, could remain with the big-league club for an extended period, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Flaherty mowed down a career-high 13 batters in his most recent start for the Redbirds last Wednesday, and manager Mike Matheny notes that the young right-hander's slider has "a little more juice" recently. Matheny actually feels that a sinker Flaherty has developed is making the slider more effective, as it sets up the latter pitch well and has also helped the 22-year-old keep the ball down (19 groundball outs over his last three Triple-A starts). Flaherty may have a chance to flash his improved repertoire for multiple big-league starts this time around, considering Adam Wainwright (elbow) is expected to hit the disabled list for the third time this season and Carlos Martinez (lat) is currently without a firm timetable for return.