Lance McCullers Jr. Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 1" / 202 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 10/2/1993 (30)
- Experience
- 4
- College
- None
Lance McCullers Jr. Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Lance McCullers Jr. News
Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr.'s (forearm) agent, Scott Boras, said on Wednesday that his client is "certainly going to be pitching next year, no doubt," but he also didn't give a specific timeline for when McCullers might be back. General manager Dana Brown said on Tuesday that McCullers might not return until sometime in early July. The 30-year-old had surgery in June to fix a torn right flexor tendon and also to remove a bone spur in his right forearm, and he's facing a lengthy recovery. McCullers last pitched in a major-league game in the World Series in 2022. Given his lengthy layoff and new surgery this year, fantasy managers shouldn't be expecting him to be available until some point in the second half of 2024.
The Houston Astros announced on Wednesday that starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm) underwent season-ending surgery on Tuesday night on his right forearm to fix the flexor tendon and to remove a bone spur, according to general manager Dana Brown. McCullers originally injured the flexor tendon in his forearm while pitching in Game 4 of the 2021 American League Division Series, and he aggravated it while throwing a bullpen this February. The 29-year-old is expected to return for the Astros in 2024, but it's unknown when that might be, and it's understandable for fantasy managers to want nothing to do with him next year. It's another disappoint injury development for McCullers, and he can safely be dropped in redraft fantasy leagues.
Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown hasn't ruled out Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm) returning at some point this season. However, according to Brown, "Even if he could come back, we would have to build him up, and it's going to take a little while to do that." The 29-year-old was initially expected to make his 2023 debut around the All-Star break. Unfortunately, he experienced setbacks in rehab and underwent an MRI on Friday. Those results are expected soon. But fantasy managers shouldn't anticipate seeing McCullers on the mound in the near future, although he should remain stashed until the team releases a definitive update on his prognosis.
Batting Order
| 1 | Jose Altuve |
| 2 | Alex Bregman |
| 3 | Yordan Alvarez |
| 4 | José Abreu |
| 5 | Michael Brantley |
| 6 | Kyle Tucker |
| 7 | Chas McCormick |
| 8 | Jeremy Peña |
| 9 | Martín Maldonado |
Lance McCullers Jr. Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
| 1 | Jose Altuve |
| 2 | Alex Bregman |
| 3 | Yordan Alvarez |
| 4 | José Abreu |
| 5 | Michael Brantley |
| 6 | Kyle Tucker |
| 7 | Chas McCormick |
| 8 | Jeremy Peña |
| 9 | Martín Maldonado |
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.
