St. Louis Cardinals: Which Players Will Join the Roster in September?

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Lyons, LHP

Though Lyons was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday to make room for infielder Greg Garcia, he’s done a good job of cementing himself as a valuable bullpen piece. In fact, Lyons might be positioning himself for a spot in the Cards’ playoff ‘pen. While he was a bit inconsistent for his first few starts, Lyons has been extremely effective since then, and during his most recent tour of duty with the Cardinals he threw 7.2 scoreless innings of relief while giving up six hits and a walk.

Lyons’ splits against lefties this season aren’t pretty (.355 opponent average), but while facing 135 lefthanded hitters over the course of his three-year major-league career, Lyons has a .223/.304/.339 opponent slash line against lefties. Is it possible that he’ll either pitch his way onto the playoff roster as a 13th pitcher, knock off a righthander like Steve Cishek, or surpass Randy Choate, who has a 4.07 ERA and has a .273 opponent average against lefties while facing just 16 righthanded hitters on the season? Either of the two former options are more likely than the latter considering Choate’s relative mediocrity and Mike Matheny’s loyalty to veterans, but Lyons has certainly earned the opportunity to at least compete for a postseason job in September.

Next: Miguel Socolovich, RHP