Lance McCullers Jr. Will Be Elite for Astros if He Can Figure This One Thing Out

One of the feel-good stories of the 2025 campaign for the Houston Astros thus far has been the return of starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.

Before making his season debut on May 4 against the Chicago White Sox, the last time McCullers took the mound for an MLB game was in the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022.

Multiple injuries and setbacks cost him the following two campaigns, but he worked tirelessly to put himself in a position to return to the Astros this season.

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Houston is fortunate he has been able to pitch regularly -- outside of a stint on the injured list that cost him just over two weeks in June -- because their staff has been ravaged by injuries.

Unfortunately, McCullers’ production hasn’t been great, showcasing some inconsistencies that can be expected from a player who missed as much time as he has.

In 10 starts, he has a 6.48 ERA across 41.2 innings with 49 strikeouts. He is struggling with his command, issuing 26 walks, resulting in an ugly 5.6 BB/9 ratio.

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No one expected McCullers to return to the form he had pre-injury when he looked like an ace in the making for Houston.

However, the odd thing about his performance this season is that he is showcasing the same level of dominance in a maddeningly consistent fashion with extreme splits.

One major goal the Astros should have the remainder of the campaign is figuring out how to get McCullers to believe he is pitching on the road all the time, as he has dominated opponents away from Daikin Park.

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His splits this season are eye-opening, recording a 0.46 ERA in 19.2 innings on the road and a brutal 11.86 ERA in 22 innings when pitching at home.

It is something that even McCullers cannot figure out the reason behind.

"I'm not really sure what's going on," he said, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. "There's a very clear gap. That's never been the case in my career. I've always pitched extremely well here. Just kind of feels like it's a couple of innings that I pitched here at home. I just feel like sometimes it's not limiting damage as well as I need to."

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With a clear need for rotation help, Houston is going to be on the lookout ahead of the MLB trade deadline for starting pitching.

McCullers being able to figure things out at home and performing with more consistency would go a long way to helping the Astros in the rotation, where they are receiving so-so production from everyone not named Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown.

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