Jordan Lyles was called up to replace an injured Wandy Rodriguez in late May and has struck in the Astros’ rotation, but the 20-year-old’s workload figures to be limited down the stretch.
Brad Mills told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that Lyles likely won’t be allowed to throw more than 165-170 total innings this season between the minors and majors, as the Astros want to avoid a workload increase of more than 15-20 innings compared to last season.
Lyle has already throw 106 innings heading into today’s start against the Nationals, so if the Astros stick to their plan he has about 10 more starts left this season. Under the normal rotation schedule Lyles would make another 13-14 starts, so somewhere along the line he’ll have to be skipped a few times or removed from the rotation altogether in September.
By that point the only drama remaining in Houston’s season will be trying to avoid 100 (or maybe 110) losses, so the long-term health of a 20-year-old should certainly take precedence over winning a few more games.
