:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/31900149/178001025.0.jpg)
Must Reads
Last Wednesday, righthanded starter Joe Kelly injured his hamstring while running to first base. The St. Louis Cardinals placed Kelly on the 15-day disabled list and promoted two minor-league righty relievers to help bolster the bullpen because the relief corps had handled a large innings load due to Kelly's early exit in Milwaukee and didn't have a day off before their next series started in Washington. While manager Mike Matheny shared that he would not shift Carlos Martinez from the pen to the rotation because he does not want to "yo-yo" the Dominican with Kelly's expected quick return, he nonetheless maintained a thin veil of mystery about which particular minor-leaguer would fill in for the disabled Kelly. On Sunday morning, Matheny announced that which most of us already knew: 40-man roster member Tyler Lyons will be called up from Triple-A Memphis take Kelly's rotation turn on Monday in New York against the Mets.
Lyons is a seasoned farmhand with big-league experience. Drafted in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB amateur draft by the Cardinals, the Oklahoma State Cowboy started his big-league career in High-A for the 2011 season and then participated in the Arizona Fall League. In 2012, the Cardinals assigned Lyons to Double-A Springfield to begin the season before quickly promoting him to Triple-A Memphis. The southpaw has spent his time between Memphis and St. Louis ever since.
TYLER LYONS CAREER STATS
|
Year |
Level |
Age |
G |
GS |
IP |
BABIP |
LOB% |
K% |
BB% |
ERA |
FIP |
|
2011 |
A-FLA |
23 |
33 |
12 |
94.0 |
.301 |
65.3 |
19.7% |
7.2% |
4.50 |
3.68 |
|
2011 |
AFL |
23 |
7 |
7 |
29.2 |
.308 |
65.8% |
23.7% |
5.9% |
4.85 |
3.87 |
|
2012 |
AA |
24 |
12 |
12 |
64.1 |
.330 |
69.6% |
19.7% |
6.9% |
3.92 |
3.67 |
|
2012 |
AAA |
24 |
15 |
15 |
88.1 |
.315 |
68.9% |
24.3% |
4.9% |
4.28 |
3.19 |
|
2013 |
AAA |
25 |
17 |
16 |
100.1 |
.280 |
68.9% |
21.6% |
4.8% |
3.32 |
3.01 |
|
2013 |
MLB |
25 |
12 |
8 |
53.0 |
.282 |
63.9% |
19.3% |
7.2% |
4.75 |
3.73 |
|
2014 |
AAA |
26 |
3 |
3 |
19.0 |
.283 |
71.4% |
23.4% |
6.5% |
3.32 |
2.78 |
Lyons's ERA last season while pitching for St. Louis is unimpressive, but his peripherals indicate he likely deserved a bit better fate. This young Triple-A season, Lyons has pitched well over three starts even if his early BB% is higher than we've grown accustomed to seeing from him, with a 3.32 ERA to go with a 2.78 FIP.
On Saturday, Joe broke down the type of approach we can expect from the southpaw. Lyons mixes a four-seam fastball, two-seamer, changeup, curve, and slider. When he's on, the port-sider can spot each of his pitches where he pleases. Lyons has an average-to-above-average repertoire, but not anything that jumps out as "plus" in the scouting vernacular. This means that command and control will be paramount in whether Lyons is successful as Kelly's replacement.