Tyler Lyons (SP, STL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Most Leagues

ANALYSIS: The Cardinals seem to churn out good pitchers at an alarmingly high rate. Tyler Lyons appears to be another example. Lyons made 8 starts in the majors last year and while the ERA was a not-so-pretty 4.75, his peripheral numbers were much better as his 3.73 FIP indicates. This year so far his numbers are better all around. Lyons is striking out a batter per inning along with better control than he showed last year. He is also allowing fewer hits which has resulted in a 3.43 ERA to go along with a 3.33 FIP telling us that the numbers so far do not lie. Lyons has been an effective pitcher no matter how you look at it and so long as he remains in the rotation he is a good pickup for any team. Therein lies the problem unfortunately. Lyons remains in the rotation while Joe Kelly and Jaime Garcia remain on the DL. With four more established pitchers in front of him its easy to see that Lyons time is limited. If you are in need of pitching, add him for now but be prepared to make a change when he is pulled out of the rotation.