Coming off his strongest start of the season, Astros pitcher Jordan Lyles has been one of the most added players in Fantasy leagues.
Lyles is just 22 years old, and was a highly touted Astros prospect prior to the 2011 season. Making his major-league debut at age 20, it was clear he was rushed. But this year, he finally seems to be figuring things out. Lyles' 3.48 ERA is out of line considering his past performances, but the advanced numbers show that his improvement is legitimate. Lyles' FIP is a solid 3.78 indicating that his numbers aren't a big fluke.
His strikeouts are up this year, mainly due to an improved curveball. Lyles' whiff rate with the pitch is up to 13.49 percent this year, according to BrooksBaseball.net. While that's not elite, it's the first time in his career the pitch has a double-digit whiff rate. Lyles pitches for the lowly Astros, so it will be tough to get wins, but he's a solid add, and should be owned in more than 32 percent of leagues.