JUPITER, Fla. -- Not much has changed from last spring to this one in Jack Flaherty's approach.

Last spring the right-hander came to camp fighting for a rotation spot. Twenty-eight starts later, Flaherty is back at it again, working toward maintaining the consistency that allowed him to post a very impressive 3.34 ERA and finish 11th in the National League with 182 strikeouts over 151 innings.

The Cardinals’ first-round draft pick in 2014 made it look easy at times in his first full Major League season. Despite that, his preparation hasn't changed and keeping things simple seems to be a winning formula for the 23-year-old righty.

“No difference,” Flaherty said about his approach this year compared to last. “You’re still battling for a spot. Everything is written in pencil right now. Nothing is in pen. Nothing is down in permanent ink. So nothing’s changed.”

If anything, Flaherty said he’s working even harder this spring after tasting success in 2018. His main focus continues to be improving and moving forward.

“Just getting better off of the things that went well last year,” he said. “When things went right, I did the little things right -- got ahead, attacked the zone. I’m just trying to improve off that, do that more often.”

On the contrary, the times he struggled last year were those in which he fell behind hitters and stopped attacking. It’s those “little” things that Flaherty is conscientious of overcoming.

After all, keeping it simple has been Flaherty's key to success.

“Obviously I want everything to improve and get better,” he said. “But it’s more about being consistent with everything and consistently throwing strikes. Being able to execute the pitch that I want more times in a row. I think that’s where my mindset is.

“I’m at my best when I do those little things right -- when I attack the zone, throw strike one, get ahead of guys and work the count that way. When I work from ahead, I feel like that’s where I’m at my best. And so for me, that will never change. That’s something I’ll always continue to work on and try to improve.”

Glenn Sattell is a contributor to MLB.com.