4 years agoThere figured to be an acclimation process for Houston Astros right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. after a season out of the mix, but no longer being an elite strikeout arm didn’t seem to be the cards. Yet, through seven starts, McCullers has produced a 7.7 K/9 rate and has a 5.40 xERA, while the biggest bugaboo has been the effectiveness of his curveball. While the pitch is getting the exact same Whiff% as 2018 (37.2%), the SLG has skyrocketed from .354 to .542. The pitch has lost an average of 2.1 MPH, and has been thrown 11.6% of the time with less frequency, but that hasn’t stopped batters from squaring it up for seven extra-base hits this year. He is set to face the Angels on Friday, who roughed him up for six hits and four runs in four IP earlier this year. While he remains a key cog in the Astros’ rotation, McCullers’ upside may not be as high as what it was previously believed to be.--Jesse Borek
Source: MLB