If Peter Flaherty III is positioned behind the plate with a radar gun and notepad at a local baseball game, chances are you’re watching at least one player with a promising future.
The 28-year-old Belmont native joined Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals as Northeast Area Supervisor, Amateur Acquisitions, earlier this year. He previously served three years as a national writer and analyst at Baseball America. As a scout, Flaherty oversees the evaluations of high school and college-level draft prospects in New England, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
“You have to put together the puzzle and make sure you’re getting enough looks at guys to feel comfortable and confident in your assessment of them,” Flaherty said, “and just be as thorough as you can.”
Born and raised in Belmont, the third-generation town resident graduated from Belmont Hill in 2017, where he played varsity baseball. Flaherty sometimes approached then-coach Michael Grant about talented players on other teams.
“He’s got a really good baseball mind and is super passionate about the sport,” said Grant, Belmont Hill’s current associate head of school and dean of faculty. “He was just so passionate to know, and I think that was super distinctive about him.”
Flaherty rose through the ranks with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League, the most prestigious collegiate baseball summer league, starting as a liaison with MLB, before moving to GM intern, and eventually, director of baseball operations. A 2021 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross with a political science degree, Flaherty spent his first season with Cotuit compiling scouting reports, advanced player metrics, and rubbing elbows with MLB scouts.
His responsibilities grew over the years, and for the final six years, he took a lead role in putting together Cotuit’s roster alongside the team’s general manager and coaching staff. Flaherty kept tabs on college players from across the country – including their normal college seasons and performances in other summer baseball leagues. Those Cotuit rosters led the Cape Cod Baseball League with the number of players selected in the MLB draft in both 2021 and 2022.
Mike Roberts, Cotuit’s coach at the time, saw a “scout in the making” from the jump.
“He embraced learning growing up and really showed a high level of what I call baseball IQ,” Roberts said. “He may not have pitched or played center field at a high level, but he’s one of the few who I saw at his age where he was able to discern who had that little bit of interesting ability to separate themselves from other people.
“I think he’ll be a GM (General Manager) of an MLB team someday. I really do.”
Flaherty then worked with the New York Yankees as an associate scout for nearly two years before joining Baseball America. Though Baseball America is a publication, Flaherty’s work resembled scouting more than journalism. In essence, he was doing the same work that he is now, but for public consumption instead of internal team information.
“The ultimate goal was working with a team with a North Star of winning the World Series,” Flaherty said. “When I was at Belmont Hill, I knew pretty quickly I wouldn’t be good enough to play baseball past the high school level, but I knew I wanted to stay involved with the game as best I could.”
Flaherty, a Boston resident, entertained other offers from other organizations over the years, but always wanted to stay in the region. All 30 MLB teams employ scouts in every part of the country – and all over the world. He found the posting of the job with the Nationals on LinkedIn.
He applied on Dec. 23, interviewed on the 26th and 27th, and received an offer on Dec. 31.
“The best New Year’s [Eve] of my life,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty started his role with the Nationals in January and immediately jumped in ahead of the mid-July draft. He scouted third-round pick Luke Williams (Franklin Regional High School, Pennsylvania) and 14th-round pick Zack Konstantinovsky (Rutgers University). Flaherty racks up the miles on his car.
Social media plays a role in the scouting game, rendering “hidden gem” prospects nearly obsolete. A lot of modern scouting comes down to determining what players fit well with each other, and uncovering under-the-radar teammates of top prospects.
“You might go into a game homing in on Player A, but then Player B stands out and makes a lot of noise,” Flaherty said.
