Flaherty, Bader Named Cardinals Minor League Players of Year

The St. Louis Cardinals announced Thursday their 2017 Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year selections, honoring a pair of former Springfield Cardinals in outfielder Harrison Bader  and right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty . Both Bader and Flaherty made their Major League debuts in 2017, with Flaherty having begun the year in Springfield.
Flaherty, 22, went a combined 14-4 with a 2.18 ERA in in 2017, a year that began by starting 10 games at Springfield (7-2, 1.42 ERA), where he allowed just 10 earned runs in 63.1 innings pitched. He was named Pitcher of the Week for April 17-23 after making two scoreless starts, spanning 13.2 innings and striking out 14 between the two. He was named Texas League Player of the Month by Minor League Baseball for his 4-0 April (5 starts) in which he had a stellar 0.56 ERA, leading the league in innings pitched (32.1) with 28 strikeouts and holding the opposition to a .191 average.  
Flaherty was promoted to Memphis on June 1, and went 7-2, 2.74 ERA in 15 starts for the Redbirds. The 6' 4", 225-pound righty was named to the MLB All-Star Futures Game and pitched one inning. He was named the Pacific Coast League pitcher of the Month for August after five starts, posting a 4-1 record along with a 1.97 ERA, with 29 strikeouts during the month.
Flaherty made his Major League debut on September 1 at San Francisco in one of his five starts for the Major League club during the month of September (also one relief appearance). He was named a Post-Season All-Star for the Texas League and selected to Baseball America's 2017 Minor League All-Star Team.
Bader, 23, batted .283 with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs in 123 games played at Memphis (AAA). His 20 homers ranked third on the team, and his 55 RBI were T3rd among his teammates. During the course of the season, the speedy outfielder stole 15 bases, 2nd-most for Memphis. The right-handed hitting Bader was named Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month in July, batting .317 (32-for-101) over 21 games with six home runs and 12 RBI while going 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts. 
Bader's contract was first purchased by St. Louis on July 25, and he made his Major League debut that night starting in centerfield and scoring the game-winning run on a walk-off sac-fly in the bottom of the 9^th. He started six games for St. Louis before an option on July 31, and then was recalled on September 1 for the remainder of the season. He started 20 of his 27 games played for St. Louis, 17 in center, two in left-field and one in right-field. Bader last played for Springfield in 2016, batting .283 16 homers and 41 RBIs in 82 games.
Bader was the Cardinals third-round selection (100^th player overall) in the June 2015 First-Year Player Draft, while Flaherty was a first-round pick (34^th overall) in 2014. Both players will be presented with their awards at the 2018 St. Louis Baseball Writers Association of America Awards Dinner on Sunday, January 14.