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There was a lot of skepticism, understandably so, surrounding Lance McCullers Jr.'s return to the Astros. He hadn't pitched in the majors since 2022 after multiple injuries and setbacks. Whenever any player is on the shelf for that long, the odds of returning to form are relatively low. While those concerns seemed justified after McCullers' second start this season went sideways in a hurry, it now looks as though the Astros' decision to stick with him is paying off.
Houston shouldn't get too full of themselves. A big reason why the Astros stood by McCullers was due to his $85 million contract that runs through 2026. That amount of money is a big motivation to get any pitcher healthy again in order to reclaim some sort of value.
Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. out-dueling Paul Skenes the latest step in a great comeback
Following the Astros' 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, most of the attention was on the outings of McCullers and Skenes. The Pirates' offensive performance was laughably bad, but the Astros starter had a lot to do with that. McCullers' six shutout innings with seven strikeouts was great, but it is actually only a part of the story here.
On May 10 against the Cincinnati Reds, McCullers only managed to record a single out and was tagged for seven runs leading to some truly reprehensible death threats being sent to him and his family.
In the four starts since, however, McCullers has posted a 2.21 ERA and 2.68 FIP with 29 strikeouts and just six walks in 20.1 innings of work. Among all starting pitchers this season with at least 20 innings pitched, McCullers' 12.21 strikeouts per nine innings pitched ranks fifth. He hasn't just made it back to the majors, he is absolutely thriving.
Time will tell if McCullers can keep this up. He's always had good stuff while missing bats at a high clip. If his lengthy and troubled rehab is any indication, there's no guarantee whatsoever his arm will hold up even through the remainder of his deal. For the moment, however, it looks like Houston was right to think that McCullers could become a real contributor in their rotation this season. In fact, it looks like he could be even more than that.