Jensen Beach grad Lyon Richardson brings big fastball back home in return to pro ball

PORT ST. LUCIE - Prior to pitching in a professional game in his own backyard, the eagerness in the voice of former Jensen Beach star Lyon Richardson was palpable.

After putting on a show in front of friends, family and his former Falcons coaches on Friday night, the path for the former second-round pick appears back on the right track to success.

Richardson, the 47th overall pick by the Cincinnati Reds back in 2018 made his first appearance in a minor league game in 590 days after Tommy John surgery in 2021 at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie pitching for the Daytona Tortugas.

He struck out seven batters in three scoreless innings against the St. Lucie Mets in a 7-6 victory for the Tortugas in 11 innings.

"It was so cool to start here and have everyone come see it," Richardson said after his outing. "Especially throwing so well, it was good for everyone to see me healthy and throw well."

Bypassing a commitment to the University of Florida after an outstanding high school career at Jensen Beach, Richardson has had several bumps in the road that the 23-year-old has had to work through.

Richardson’s first full season of pro ball as a 19-year old showed promise striking out 106 batters in 112⅔ innings with a 4.15 ERA.

But in 2020, the minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting Richardson and the rest of the baseball world.

More: Baseball rankings: See who TCPalm has on top at midseason

More: TCPalm breaks down the top hitters and pitchers for the 2023 high school baseball season

In 2021, strong outings for Richardson in Dayton High-A were washed out by poor ones. He was still striking out over a batter an inning, but made his last appearance of 2021 on August 25 before being shut down for the season with an arm injury.

He underwent Tommy John surgery in September and the road to recovery began for Richardson. The Reds added him to the 40-man roster for the big club last November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

This spring, Richardson took part in big league camp for several weeks which included three appearances in big league spring training games.

Flashing a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90’s that he showed throughout his high school career, Richardson felt like pitching in the environment of big league spring training was a great test to mentally prepare him for the minor league season ahead of him.

"I probably feel better than I ever have in pro ball physically," Richardson said prior to Friday's outing. "Everything is in sync because I don't have any pain. It makes repeating mechanics a lot easier. I had a few extra months so build myself properly with my rehab process. Having my first start of this year in a big league spring training game, it was going to be hard to top those nerves after being in one of those games."

During his time at Jensen Beach, Richardson finished his high school career as a senior by being named TCPalm's Player of the Year pitching to a 7-0 record with a 0.58 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 48 innings.

Corey Cooke, who was Richardson's head coach with the Falcons and led the program to last year's 4A state title game, got to enjoy seeing his former star Friday night along with several current players and coaches.

"For him to go through what he's went through, this is now like a rebirth and for him for it to start here, it's just so poetic," Cooke said. "It was just really cool to see him, for him to have all that support here."

Richardson's timeline for the near future was geared toward getting him back on the mound in warmer weather during the first month of the season as he builds his stamina with Double-A Chattanooga likely his next stop.

Friday's outing was a look at a healthy Richardson flashing a fastball from 96-to-99 miles-an-hour that gave the Mets' hitters fits in addition to flashing a sharp breaking ball.

Richardson hit the first batter he saw and allowed a single but worked out of a first inning jam and would go on to retire his final nine batters he faced with the seven strikeouts.

How high up the minor league ladder Richardson can climb given his health is now the question. If Friday was any indication, the possibilities could be endless for the former Falcon star with his velocity back where he wants it to be.

"This spring I was in that range of 96-99 for the most part, even touched 100 a couple times, so pretty much right in the same range tonight," Richardson said. "It was just a great start to the year."

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Healthy Richardson shines in return to pro ball in his backyard