Atlanta's Paul Byrd. How good?

[Rohan]

I'm in desperate need of pitching. How good can he be coming off Tommy John surgery? He won 17games 3.91 1.15whp in 2002 for a KC team that wasn't good at all. I hear he has great control and doesn't walk many batters. He's expected back mid-June - end of June. Is this guy worth stashing?

[d18Mike]

I'd keep an eye on him but I wouldn't stash him unless you have a lot of dead wood on your bench.

Unless you are in a very deep league, I suspect there won't be a stampede for his services beacue frankly thee Braves won't provide any support. Byrd had only one good year as an ML pitcher. It happened to be the last before he blew his arm out. The rest were utterly forgettable. And he was never cosidered a top prospect.

It's a gamble -- was the last year of his career an anomoloy or the first 5-6?

[Rohan]

He won 17 games for a very lowsy KC team. Which means he wasa pitching well against very good teams, doesn't it?

Atlanta's pitchers usually fair well, due to there pitching coach, what's his name?

[benjapage]

mazzone.

b

[Ziggy Zoggy]

I want to compare Byrd to Lieber. But Lieber has a much better lineup protecting him and is less of an injury risk. I'd be surprised if Byrd doesn't go back on the DL at some point this summer.

[Tavish]

The big year for Byrd was pretty deceiving. The Royals were bad, but gave Byrd plenty of run support on the days he pitched. His biggest asset was the fact he was a workhorse and would go very deep into games. The injury will most likely affect that some reducing his effectiveness. He was a Matt Morris type pitcher low-walk low-K who tries to let the batters get themselves out.