In an article reviewing the 2008 June Draft, Baseball America looked at the picks from Supplemental First Round through the Third Round who have stood out in 2009. Jordan Lyles is #2...
Lyles didn’t rank among the top 200 prospects for the 2008 draft, but the Astros had enough conviction in Lyles to take him off the board with the 38th pick. Now Lyles, 19, is building a case as one of the better pitching prospects in A-ball. In 48 2/3 innings with low Class A Lexington, Lyles has 56 strikeouts (10.4 K/9) and 11 walks (2.0 BB/9) with a 3.14 ERA. Lyles is a good athlete with a repeatable delivery, allowing him to throw strikes and miss bats with his low-90s fastball, curveball and changeup.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
