Lumsden far from sharp in spring outing
Ever wonder what happened to Tyler Lumsden, the left-handed ace of the Clemson Tigers’ pitching staff from 2003-2004?Well, Lumsden is now pitching in the Houston Astros organization. And from what I saw on the MLB Network on Sunday, he’s not pitching well.
In a 13-1 spring training loss to the New York Mets, Lumsden wore No. 62 and was rocked in his only inning of work.
Pitching the top of the ninth, Lumsden gave up two hits, three runs (two earned), walked one and struck out none.
Lumsden had trouble finding the plate. His fastball, which was consistently 87-89 mph but was flat, missed badly up high a few times while his breaking ball bounced in the dirt a few times.
And when Lumsden did find the strike zone, he was hit hard. Mets catcher Ramon Castro took a fastball on the outer half of the plate the opposite way over the right-field fence for a three-run homer.
In two appearances for the Astros this spring, Lumsden has no record with a 9.00 earned run average. He’s given up two hits, walked two and struck out two.
After being selected in the first round of the 2004 draft by the Chicago White Sox, Lumsden went 3-1 with a 4.12 ERA in 15 games for Winston-Salem in the Advanced A Carolina League.
Lumsden missed the 2005 season due to left elbow surgery, but bounced back with solid Double-A numbers in 2006. In 20 starts for the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League, Lumsden was 9-4 with a 2.69 ERA. The White Sox then traded him to the Kansas City Royals and he posted a 2-1 record with a 3.06 ERA for the Wichita Wranglers of the Texas League.
Pitching for the Royals’ Triple-A team in Omaha in 2007 and 2008, Lumsden was hit hard. In 53 appearances, including 42 starts, Lumsden was 12-19 with a 6.51 ERA. In 226 2/3 innings, he gave up 279 hits, walked 121 and struck out 118.
Last November, Lumsden was waived by the Royals and claimed by the Astros.
“Tyler’s numbers weren’t good this year, but our guys like his arm,” Astros general manager Ed Wade said in a press release at the time of Lumsden’s acquisition. “He’s a big, strong lefty, and he’s only 25 years old. He has remaining options, so we’ll get him into Kissimmee, evaluate him and give him a chance to compete. At the very least, Tyler provides us with some more young depth.”
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on 03/02 at 04:58 PM
