McCullers to make first start since surgery
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Five hundred days later, Lance McCullers Jr.’s return is imminent.
The Astros’ curveball connoisseur and fan favorite will make his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday against the Cardinals in West Palm Beach — 500 days after his last appearance in a major league game.
One inning seems like McCullers’ limit, Astros manager
Dusty Baker said Saturday, but a quick first could allow McCullers a second frame.
“Raring to go ain’t his problem,” Baker said. “If anything, we’re going to have to calm him down. He’ll probably be begging or lobbying to try to go more than one.”
McCullers underwent Tommy John surgery in November 2018, sidelining him for the entire 2019 season. The team adhered to a gradual rehabilitation process for the 26-year-old righthander, who could have appeared in minor league rehab games toward the end of last season.
McCullers faced live hitters last October at the team’s Florida facility, but Sunday will be his first game action since Game 5 of the 2018 American League Division Series — an outing McCullers pitched with a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
McCullers’ return and effectiveness is crucial for an Astros starting staff that appears somewhat vulnerable behind Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke. McCullers was an All-Star in 2017 and owns a 3.67 ERA in four major league seasons.
Insight from Baker helps Valdez’s control
Framber Valdez’s command issues are not a secret. Conversations about the curveball-happy southpaw often center on his inability to stay in the strike zone — and the implosion that often follows. Valdez walked almost six batters per nine innings last season and had four starts that lasted four or fewer innings.
A new manager afforded some insights. Dusty Baker recently brought Valdez into his office for a story. Baker told Valdez of former teammate
Fernando Valenzuela, who experienced some of the same problems during his remarkable rookie season.
“When he first came up, he would call a timeout and back up off the mound until he got his act back together” Baker said.
Valdez took the instruction to heart. He spun a second straight adequate start on Saturday, getting himself into and out of a few jams against the Mets.
Facing a lineup that featured reigning National League Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso and veteran catcher Wilson Ramos,
Valdez struck out four and walked two. Thirty-one of his 50 pitches were strikes.
Valdez allowed a runner to reach with less than two outs in each of the three frames he began. In all three instances, he rebounded with a strikeout of the next hitter.
“I definitely took a lot of things he took me about Fernando to heart,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “Especially once I get into those jams, I’ve really been focusing on picking up my intensity and making my pitches, not worrying about what happens after the ball is hit or after the pitch is made.”
Valdez is in competition with
Austin Pruitt and Josh James for the team’s fifth starter spot. He’s been scoreless in two Grapefruit League starts spanning 4 ⅔ innings, striking out seven with three walks.