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Starter #2: Lance McCullers
Talk about Astros injuries last year and Lance McCullers surely comes to mind. He may actually be the first.
Between a late start and premature ending to his 2016 season, we didn’t get to see McCullers pitch as often as we would’ve liked. But injuries happen in life and baseball is no different.
When he was healthy though, McCullers was arguably the team’s best starting pitcher in 2016. In 81 innings pitched, the right-hander sustained a 3.22 ERA/3.00 FIP with a 11.78 K/9. His walks I admit were a bit high at 5.00 BB/9, however, he also maintained the best HR/9 (0.56) on the Astros staff.
If his health permits, McCullers has a good chance to be the team’s best starting pitcher in 2017. And don’t forget that he has been mixing in a changeup to go with his fastball-curveball combination. McCullers, in other words, could just keep getting better.