Lance McCullers Jr. Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 1" / 200 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 10/2/1993 (30)
- Experience
- 7
- College
- None
Lance McCullers Jr. Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Lance McCullers Jr. News
Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm) has been throwing off a mound and has hit the mid-80s with his fastball while adding in some changeups. His next step will be to add in some breaking pitches to build up his pitch count and intensity in the coming weeks. McCullers didn't pitch at all in 2023 after having surgery on June 13 to fix his flexor tendon and remove a bone spur from his right elbow. He had rehabbed to the point that he was close to facing hitters in mid-May of last year, but he had another setback that ultimately led to surgery. It's positive news for the 30-year-old starter, but McCullers still has a ways to go and probably won't start a minor-league rehab assignment for around another month, so fantasy managers in shallow mixed leagues can leave him to the waiver wire for now. In a best-case scenario, McCullers won't be back with Houston until after the All-Star break.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm) threw 10 fastballs off of the mound's rubber on Saturday. He is expected to return from forearm surgery sometime around midseason after not pitching at all in 2023. The Astros have had terrible luck with injuries to their rotation so far this season, so McCullers would likely jump back into a starting spot when he returns. He is not a priority stash at this point, but fantasy managers with IL space in deeper leagues could scoop him up if he is available.
Houston Astros pitchers Luis Garcia (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr. (elbow), Jose Urquidy (forearm) and Penn Murfee (elbow) all played catch at Minute Maid Park on Monday. Left-hander Framber Valdez (elbow) is scheduled to play catch Tuesday. Garcia, McCullers and Murfee are all currently on the 60-day injured list. Garcia is recovering from Tommy John surgery last May and isn't expected to be an option for the 'Stros until around midseason at least. McCullers, 30, is expected to be out until late June or early July as he recovers from right-elbow surgery. After missing a huge chunk of last season, the 28-year-old Urquidy has now been out almost a month with a right-forearm strain. Barring a setback, he should be the first of this group to return for Houston's rotation.
Batting Order
1 | Jose Altuve |
2 | Kyle Tucker |
3 | Yordan Alvarez |
4 | Alex Bregman |
5 | Jeremy Peña |
6 | Yainer Diaz |
7 | Joey Loperfido |
8 | Mauricio Dubón |
9 | Trey Cabbage |
Lance McCullers Jr. Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
1 | Jose Altuve |
2 | Kyle Tucker |
3 | Yordan Alvarez |
4 | Alex Bregman |
5 | Jeremy Peña |
6 | Yainer Diaz |
7 | Joey Loperfido |
8 | Mauricio Dubón |
9 | Trey Cabbage |
Lance McCullers Jr. would be a fantasy ace if he could throw a decent fastball. Limited to just 47 IP last year due to a strained flexor tendon, he went 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA and solid 3.58 xFIP and 3.57 xERA marks. He posted a solid 25.6 K% on the back of three secondary offerings: slider (13.1 SwStr%, 48.5 Zone%, 31.1% chase), curve (16.8 SwStr%, 54.7 Zone%, 32.6% chase), and changeup (12.1 SwStr%, 29.5% Zone%, 33.3% chase). Unfortunately, the sinker he uses to set them up is terrible. Its 1.7 SwStr% doesn't help him get Ks, and batters crushed it for a .421 batting average and .842 slugging percentage last season. McCullers also struggles with walks at times (11.3 BB% last season), likely due to how unreliable his sinker is in fastball counts. The 29-year-old is therefore a solid name to fill in the back of your fantasy rotation, especially considering that he plays for one of the league's better teams in the Houston Astros. His current ADP of 202.67 is more than fair.