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ERA in six starts for Round Rock.
Sending him to the RedHawks not only gives Lyles a chance to prove himself at this level before making the next jump, but also helps the Astros set the clock for Lyles’ eventual arbitration eligibility back a season.
For a team that’s not expected to contend this year, keeping Lyles under their control for an additional year figures to have more importance on the back end of that time than on what he might’ve been able to accomplish in the first month of this season.
Lyles understands that reality.
“I wasn’t going to put too much thought into it,” he said. “They decided to send me down and thought I needed a little more time, and I’m going to go with it.
“It’s their decision and I’m going to do my best to put myself in a position to help our team out later in the season.”
He throws four pitches — fastball, curveball, changeup and cutter. Lyles said the curveball will get most of his attention in Triple-A.
“My goal is to make everything more consistent and make better pitches in the strike zone,” Lyles said. “That starts with my curveball. I feel like that’s the pitch that’s not up to par with the other ones.”
While RedHawks pitching coach Burt Hooton said Lyles needs to work on his command and control of all four pitches, makeup isn’t something he needs to worry about.
“He shows a remarkable poise for a guy that age,” Hooton said. “The way he carries himself, he’s ready for it.”
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