So what's the next step for Wacha's Fantasy owners, who were feeling great about their investment just a couple days ago, when the 21-year-old held the Mets to two earned runs in six innings?

They could always hold on to him. If Lyons is as low-end as some people make him out to be, he won't last in the role -- even if he has it for now. But how many bad starts will it take, and how many innings will Wacha have by then? The Cardinals want to limit him to 150 this year, and he's already at about 70.

Though Wacha's first three starts were no doubt encouraging, they weren't Tony Cingrani-like. I'm not sure he's shown enough to make him worth the wait, especially with the innings limit in mind. If you're already having trouble rostering Rick Porcello and Mike Leake in your league, I say you cut him loose.

Wacha allowed a 4.58 ERA and struck out 14 against four walks over three starts covering 17 2/3 innings. The 19th-overall pick in the 2012 draft will be back in the majors to stay at some point, but the Cardinals likely don't want to stress his arm too much in his first full professional season. Wacha posted a 2.05 ERA in his nine starts for Memphis prior to being called up.

Both pitchers threw bullpen sessions Thursday, and will start Sunday -- one in the big leagues, the other at Triple-A Memphis. Lyons will not start Friday with Jake Westbrook scheduled to return but could go Sunday if the team elects to keep him. 

Maybe he needed a taste of just how tough the big leagues can be after waltzing through what amounts to a Triple-A lineup in his first go. But his stuff is still as good as ever, and with just one walk in 11 2/3 innings so far, he has control to make it work.

I do worry that another bad start could make him rather than Tyler Lyons the odd man out whenever Jake Westbrook returns for the Cardinals, but I'd rather not risk losing him to someone else with another good start.

For what it's worth, I did drop him to 60th in my starting pitcher rankings, so if Kevin Gausman or Francisco Liriano was still out there, I'd be willing to swap him out for the hotter hand. But I still believe enough in Wacha's potential that I'm not ready to move on to Zack Wheeler or Jarrod Parker just yet.