Astros Lance McCullers Jr. and the 8 Pitches of Hope
· Yahoo Sports
His first Grapefruit League appearance of 2026 didn’t last long, but it was certainly encouraging.
Maybe there’s still a little gas left in the tank after all.
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Friday’s 2026 Grapefruit League debut by Lance McCullers Jr. may not have seemed like much, but it was huge. For Lance, for the Astros, for fans who may not even know it yet, it was huge.
Coming off a season where his fastball velocity was so bad he couldn’t even throw it, Friday was a massive step forward. Not only could he throw his sinker, he could throw his four-seam. It allowed him to do something he couldn’t do last year at all, and that is get quick outs.
Saddled with low velocity last season that sometimes saw him unable to break 91 MPH on his fastball and sinker, Lance relied on his knuckle curve and slider. His curve is legendary in Houston, and his slider is a very good pitch, but there were several issues relying heavily on those two pitches.
The first was he struggled with command, and it was difficult for him to throw them for strikes.
Second, they are both ‘swing-and-miss’ type pitches. They aren’t designed to get weak contact, ground balls, pop ups, etc. They are supposed to make you look helpless at the plate and put you away.
Between his lack of command and inability to get any quick outs, Lance was going deep counts far too often on seemingly every batter, and usually behind in the count as well.
When you can’t throw a fastball, and can’t locate your curve, guys sit on your slider. When MLB hitters sit on a pitch with no fear of getting caught by a different one for a strike, they are going to get to you. Lance felt the pain of that last season.
It’s why there was so much consternation of what could Lance do this year to be a part of the team. Could he even make the team? Can Lance pitch out of the bullpen? Would the Astros put him through waivers for the purposes of giving him his unconditional release and eat the final year of his contract?
None of those questions can be fully answered in the 8 pitches McCullers threw on Friday, but there was something found that maybe had not been seen over the past two years for him: Hope.
McCullers second pitch of the game was a four-seam clocked at 93.2 MPH. Maybe you noticed. Maybe you didn’t. Now you will. He threw 4 pitches to C.J. Abrams, and got him to pop up on a knuckle curve.
Jacob Young stepped into the box. Sinker. 93.5 MPH. Sinker. 93.8 MPH. Ground ball to first. Two out.
Enter Dylan Crews to the box. Sinker. 94.6 MPH. Four-seam. 93.3 MPH. Pop up to 2nd. Inning over.
1-2-3. 8 pitches.
I know its spring training, but McCullers was able to lean on 2 pitches he could barely throw last season. His velocity was up. He got quick outs. These are the things Lance needs in his arsenal if he can find his way back into the rotation and ever be close to the pitcher he once was. These are things he will need if he can be a reliable arm out of the pen (provided his arm can handle the rigors of Pen Life).
It’s too early to tell if McCullers can maintain that level of velocity, let alone build off it. It’s too early to tell if he can maintain that velocity over 20 pitches, 50 pitches, 90 pitches.
But he showed a velocity increase, one that there were no offseason reports of him having.
He showed us there’s hope.
Were you encouraged by McCullers’ first outing in Grapefruit League? Let us know in the comments below.