RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
OWNED IN: 29% of Leagues
ANALYSIS: Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jordan Lyles appears to be nearing a return to the team. He was placed on the Injured List for experiencing hamstring tightness following his start on June 8. In his first rehab start in Triple-A on Sunday, he pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed two hits, three walks and one earned run while striking out seven.
Lyles was showing some promising signs in the first few months of the season, going 5-3 with a 3.64 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while striking out 66 batters in 64 1/3 innings. His curveball, which has always been his most effective pitch, has seen a solid increase in vertical drop from 51.7 inches in 2018 to 56.3 inches this year. It’s been one of the main factors for his career-best strikeout rate of 24.9% this year.
Lyles could be in line to rejoin the Pirates this week and start the team’s road game against the Brewers on Friday. Unfortunately, that’s a tough matchup to come back to, but Lyles is still worth adding in 12+ team leagues and NL-only leagues for the long term help he can provide to your roster. He’s also worth consideration in shallow leagues if you’re especially hurting at pitcher.
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