Who’s Cold? Jordan Lyles

I feel like my opinion on Jordan Lyles changes on a start to start basis.

Jordan Lyles ( Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports)

Watching him lately has caused frustration for Astros fans, and last night was not any different. In fact, you could make the argument that Lyles’ start against Cincinnati was his worst and most painful start of the season.

As Lyles took the mound against Jay Bruce and the Reds, he was working on a streak of three straight quality starts. Clearly, that did not matter as the soon to be 23-year old allowed nine runs (8 earned) over 3.1 innings as he took the loss and the Astros fell 10-0 to the Reds.

With the positive momentum generated from his last three starts, Lyles should have been feeling confident Tuesday night. Instead, he allowed four first inning runs, and once again, he just looked lost on the mound.

But if you take a deeper look at Lyles, his performance in his last ten games (eight starts) leaves a lot to be desired. In that stretch, his ERA is 6.06. The right hander logged 49 innings while allowing 47 hits and 17 walks. Not exactly the performance of a future top of the rotation starter that Lyles was once thought to be.

However, that is in line with Lyles performance all season as his ERA sits at 5.32. All of my optimism this season, is really based on his 3.53 ERA in June.

There will be more on this in the offseason, but I am thinking Lyles will be better suited in the bullpen going forward. Well, that and I think the coaching staff still has some work to do with him. Lyles has the talent, but adjustments are necessary for him to become a more consistent and successful pitcher. It is too early to close the book on him, but changes need to be made.