Back in 2017, the Cardinals promoted 21-year-old pitching prospects Jack Flaherty and Sandy Alcantara to help as fill-ins.
So their big league adventures began.
Five years later, Flaherty’s career for the Cardinals is on hold due to recurring shoulder problems while Alcantara is a National League Cy Young Award candidate for the Miami Marlins.
Their contrasting fortunes — and the varying outcomes for the other young hurlers from the 2017 Cardinals — offer a case study to consider while John Mozeliak and Co. map out the team’s pitching future.
That ’17 team used eight home-grown pitchers 25 or younger.