Astros Set Starting Rotation with Injury-Plagued Veteran Getting Last Spot

The Houston Astros have announced the first turn of their starting rotation for the 2026 season.

The Astros are back home at Daikin Park for two exhibition games against the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys on Monday and Tuesday before opening the regular season on Thursday, with Hunter Brown taking his first opening day starter.

The rest of the rotation behind him is now set, per The Athletic’s Chandler Rome on X (formerly Twitter). Mike Burrows will start Friday’s game, followed by Cristian Javier on Saturday and Tatsuya Imai on Sunday. Then, on Monday, at home against Boston, the oft-injured Lance McCullers Jr. will complete the first turn.

Houston also announced that Spencer Arrighetti, a candidate for the rotation, would start the season at Triple-A.

Astros Starting Rotation

Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. poses for a photo with a baseball in his hand. — Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Brown was a Cy Young finalist last season and was announced as the opening day starter the first week of spring training, removing any drama from the announcement. He went 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 31 starts. He struck out 206 hitters and walked 57, as he pitched a career-best 185.1 innings for a rotation that was beset by injuries all season. He was named an All-Star for the first time.

Burrows was acquired in a three-way trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Pittsburgh Pirates in December. He was seen as rotation depth, but he exceled far above that in spring training. The right-hander had a 1.50 ERA in five starts, giving up just three earned runs in 18 innings. He struck out 17 and walked six.

Javier slots in as the third starter after he missed part of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2024. He went 2-4 with a 4.62 ERA in eight starts last season. He threw just 37 innings. He had a 1.69 ERA in three spring training starts, with 10 strikeouts and six walks in 10.2 innings.

Imai was the Astros’ surprise free-agent signing, as they inked the Japanese star to a three-year deal — with player options after each season — right before his posting deadline. Imai was 58-45 with a 3.45 ERA in seven seasons in the NBP, including 907 strikeouts. He was a three-time NPB All-Star, most recently in 2025, and pitched a combined no-hitter last season.

McCullers is in the final season of a contract he signed in 2022. But he’s only appeared in 24 games since he signed the deal, missing the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to injury. He returned last year to go 2-5 with a 6.51 ERA in 16 games (13 starts). He’s been effective in spring training, as he finished with a 3.38 ERA in three starts. He’s only pitched eight innings this spring.

Houston is moving to a six-man rotation sometime in April. For now, the Astros intend to use extra relievers to provide coverage for its starting pitchers in the two turns of the rotation.