Wandy to 15 day DL; Lyles called up

Well most Houston fans knew it was only a matter of time before the Astros called up top prospect Jordan Lyles this season. They however did not want to have to see Wandy go on the DL to make this move happen. Brian McTaggert of MLB.com is reporting that Wandy Rodriguez has been placed on the 15 day DL due to fluid in his left elbow.

This is a tough setback for Wandy, who usually is a slow starter, is off to one of his better starts in his career. He is 3-3 on the season with a 3.41 ERA and the Astros have won four out of Wandy’s past five starts. Over the past month, he has dropped his ERA from 5.48 to 3.41 and become the workhorse of the staff throwing at least seven innings in six of his last seven starts. With all this extra work, I brought up the question about two weeks ago if Wandy was getting overworked and the question needs to be revisited now that Wandy has ended up on the DL.

Almost every person who played little league or baseball as a kid dreams about playing in the Majors one day and that dream has come true for Jordan Lyles, even though it comes under not so pleasant circumstances. Jordan Lyles is 3-3 for Triple A affiliate Oklahoma City RedHawks in 10 starts and has an ERA of 3.20. The 20 year old has had some great success over the past year and a half, being named Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year last year. He continued this success into Spring Training this season going 1-2 in five games with an ERA of 1.98.

Many people saw the potential of Lyles and are excited to see him pitch in first game, which will be Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs. If Lyles pitches like many Astros fans hope, this will solidify a rotation that will include Brett Myers, Wandy when he is healthy and youngsters JA Happ and Bud Norris.