Kuzul

The Houston Astros turned to the minor leagues for some help with the stretch run approaching.

The team announced on Sunday infield prospect Alex Bregman was “selected to the Major League roster” and will join the team on Monday. The Astros also noted infielder Danny Worth was designated for assignment in the corresponding move.

The Astros drafted Bregman with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, and he has quickly ascended to the major league level. The Astros announced that Bregman was promptly placed into the lineup for Monday’s game against the New York Yankees:

Abshire also said “call-up requests reached a crescendo after his performance at the All-Star Futures Game on July 10.” Bregman was only a home run away from the cycle after his initial three at-bats and looked quite comfortable against some of the elite prospects who represented the future of the league.

However, part of the issue blocking his immediate transition to the Astros was the fact his natural position of shortstop is occupied by Carlos Correa, who just so happened to win the American League Rookie of the Year in 2015. What’s more, second baseman Jose Altuve is locked in at his position, so consistent appearances in the middle infield weren’t a realistic possibility for Bregman.

Connor Byrne of MLB Trade Rumors said the team could look to use the youngster at third base or in the corner outfield.

For his part, Bregman was pleased with the opportunity, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com: “Just very excited. I can’t wait to get to work and hopefully help contribute and help win games.”

Bregman continued, “It’s a dream come true. And I’m ready to get to work, keep my mouth shut [and] hopefully help contribute,” per McTaggart.

If he plays anything like he did in the minor leagues, he will contribute. He drilled 20 homers in 80 combined games at Double-A and Triple-A, per Abshire, and also finished with a .333 average and six long balls in 18 games with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies. The team wished him luck following Sunday’s news:

Keith Law of ESPN.com recently ranked Bregman as the top prospect in baseball, which is daunting to think about for the rest of the American League West considering Correa is 21 years old and Altuve and George Springer are both 26. Houston has put together a formidable young core that figures to compete for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps with the supporting cast in mind, manager A.J. Hinch urged that Bregman doesn’t have to be “Superman” upon his arrival, via Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston:

Houston is a season-best 10 games over .500 at 54-44 and only 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the division as of Sunday. Adding Bregman to the lineup will only make the Astros more dangerous with postseason spots on the line.

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It’s not about the fit. It’s about the talent.

Don’t worry about how the Houston Astros will fit all of their good infielders into the lineup. Worry about the fact they have so many good players in the first place.

I’m not going to use the “TeamoftheFuture” hashtag MLB Network’s Brian Kenny uses for his favorite franchise, but I do love the week the Astros are having.

You couldn’t watch Alex Bregman in Sunday’s All-Star Futures Game without thinking Bregman’s future is coming fast. And you couldn’t look at Friday’s signing of Cuban star Yulieski Gurriel, first reported by Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, without thinking the Astros are serious.

They’re serious about the future, for sure, but Gurriel is 32 years old. Signing him for $47.5 million over five years, and beating out big-market teams like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, strongly suggests the Astros aim to become the Team of the Near Future too.

Remember, they made the playoffs a year ago and came within a blown lead in Game 4 of eliminating the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series.

The first month of this season wasn’t good, with the Astros going 7-17. They were 10 games out of first place in the AL West by May 22, a season-worst 11 games under .500.

Then they started winning. In the final 44 games before the All-Star break, the Astros went 31-13, the best record in baseball in that time. The first-place Texas Rangers slumped before the break and when they lost again Friday and the Astros won Friday night in Seattle, the gap in the West was down to just 4.5 games.

They keep winning, on the field and off.

On July 2, the first day of the international free-agent signing period, MLB.com’s Sanchez tweeted:

Then came Gurriel. The Astros were never discussed as one of the favorites when he became a free agent, because he plays second base and third base, and the Astros have Jose Altuve at second and Bregman ready to take over at third.

One day in late June, Gurriel posted a picture of himself in an Astros uniform, as tweeted by @NicoRafa54:

It wasn’t yet a sign of a done deal, because Gurriel also posted pictures of himself working out in New York Mets, Yankees, San Diego Padres, Dodgers and San Francisco Giants gear. It was a sign the Astros were serious.

The $47.5 million they committed Friday showed it even more.

But why not? It’s only money, and Gurriel costs them nothing else. His contract didn’t count against the international signing limit, and signing him didn’t cost the Astros a prospect.

If anything, it allows them the option of trading one of their other infield prospects. It won’t be Bregman, who should be called up soon, but the Astros could justify dealing Colin Moran, another former first-rounder who also plays third base.

As for Gurriel, no one really knows how much of an impact he’ll make, and how soon. He’s been training in Miami (with his brother Lourdes Gurriel Jr., an outfielder who was also a free agent), but he hasn’t played in an actual game since defecting from Cuba in February.

He’ll need time in the minor leagues, at least for a few weeks. He may need time to adjust.

But if he’s as good as advertised, he could make an impact, and he could do it as soon as this September’s pennant race—and perhaps this October’s postseason.

As far as where he plays, these things often take care of themselves. Maybe he can play the outfield. Maybe Bregman, who will need to move off shortstop because Carlos Correa is there, could play the outfield or first base.

Don’t worry about it. The key to winning is accumulating talent, and by signing Gurriel, the Astros seem to be doing just that.

They kept at it Friday, which pleased Kenny, the top Astros fan (or at least the most prominent media fan). Check out his first tweet after Sanchez reported the signing:

Forgive the spelling of Gurriel’s name. It was Gourriel, until the family changed it less than two years ago.

The Astros have changed their look in the last couple of years too. They’re full of talent now.

They’ve had a nice month and a great week. And they might just be setting themselves up for a great second half.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.

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After recently being declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, Cuban star Yulieski Gourriel has agreed to terms on a contract with the Houston Astros. 

Per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, Gourriel’s agreement with the Astros is for $47.5 million over five years.  

Gourriel defected from Cuba in February with the goal of playing in MLB, per Sanchez.

Once he was declared a free agent on June 13, bidding was open to all 30 teams. He was exempt from usual international spending rules because of his age (32) and having more than five years of experience in Serie Nacional. 

Even though Gourriel has not played in a professional game since 2015, scouting reports believe that he is ready to step onto an MLB field quickly. 

Dave Defreitas of 2080Baseball.com broke down Gourriel’s strengths as a player, which largely rest on his exceptional hitting abilities, based on evaluations from 2014 when he played in the Nippon Professional Baseball League:

He proceeded to hit .305 with an OPS of .894, including 11 HRs and 22 doubles in 239 ABs with Yokohama. This was the player scouts were expecting to see the year before. He showed good actions, above-average bat speed, and continued showing power to the middle of the field. He still showed off a solid above-average arm and what should translate to a solid-average defense at third base in the big leagues. 

John Manuel of Baseball America said Gourriel has “classic third base tools with arm strength, body control and plus power.”

Gourriel may have added leverage in his negotiations: At this point in the year, with teams seeking trades to upgrade their rosters, clubs had to give up only money, not prospects, in order to acquire him.

There’s also the matter of next winter’s crop of free agents being particularly weak. Jose Bautista is the big name in the group, but he’s going to be 36 in October. Edwin Encarnacion turns 34 in January. Ian Desmond, who is having a terrific bounce-back season in Texas, will likely be the best player available. 

This was the perfect time for Gourriel to be declared a free agent and maximize his earnings potential as a 32-year-old. 

The Astros are an interesting fit for Gourriel because they don’t have an opening at third base since Luis Valbuena is playing well. Carlos Correa is also capable of sliding over to the position if the team wants to call up top prospect Alex Bregman to play shortstop down the stretch. 

Bregman is also an option at third base if the Astros believe that Correa’s defense at shortstop is not a concern. Jose Altuve is locked in at second base, so Gourriel could potentially fill a corner outfield spot. 

It’s never a bad thing to have too many hitters, especially for a team in the pennant race that could potentially look to upgrade its roster before the trade deadline, but Gourriel doesn’t seem to be joining a situation that will give him a lot of at-bats in the near future. 

Finding a hitter, especially at this point in the season, is often difficult because teams only have so much money available and dealing prospects has become increasingly taboo since they are more cost-effective than spending in free agency. 

Cuban defectors have a mixed track record in MLB. Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Abreu are among the great success stories. Yasiel Puig has been dogged by injuries and inconsistent play over the last two years. Rusney Castillo’s tenure with the Boston Red Sox ended when he was waived less than two years after signing a $72 million deal. 

Gourriel is the next player on that list who will have sky-high expectations. He will have pressure on him as soon as he laces up the cleats, but his natural ability and advanced age give him the experience needed to be a quality big leaguer for the next few years. 

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The Houston Astros are dead, long live the Houston Astros.

OK, we should amend that: The Astros seemed dead after going 7-17 in April. Since May 1, however, they’ve gone 30-19. And with a sweep-sealing 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park, they poked their heads above .500 at 37-36.

They’re still 10 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West and have lost nine of 10 against their Lone Star State rivals.

The ‘Stros, though, are back in the AL wild-card picture and, quite simply, looking like a relevant baseball team again.

That’s where they were at the end of 2015, when they blossomed ahead of schedule, paced the division for most of the season, grabbed a wild-card slot and pushed the eventual champion Kansas City Royals to five games in the division series.

For a while, it looked like vertigo-inducing regression was going to define 2016.

Ace and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel vacillated between mediocre and terrible, the rest of the pitching staff wobbled and the bats failed to pick up the slack. 

But the Astros have righted the ship, thanks in large part to an exemplary showing by the bullpen, as Sports Illustrated‘s Cliff Corcoran outlined prior to Wednesday’s action:

The Astros allowed 5.1 runs per game in April but have held opponents to 3.8 since. Leading that charge has been the performance of their bullpen. Since May 1, Houston’s relief corps has led the majors with a 2.50 ERA, 5.24 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.6 home runs per nine innings. Over that span, only the Yankees‘ relievers have struck out a higher percentage of their batters faced, and no other bullpen has issued walks or allowed base runners at a lower rate.

Flame-throwing reliever Ken Giles has served as a symbol of that turnaround. Acquired over the winter in the trade that sent budding star right-hander Vincent Velasquez to the Philadelphia Phillies, Giles’ ERA ballooned to 9.00 at the end of April.

Since then, he’s fanned 27 in 20 frames and thrown more like the shutdown late-inning arm the Astros thought they were getting. 

“It was mechanical 100 percent,” Giles said of his early woes, per Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. “Not confidence. I always knew I had the confidence.”

Keuchel, too, has flashed some positive signs, cutting back on his walks and lasting at least six innings in eight of his last nine starts. His ERA, however, still sits at an unsightly 5.32.

Lance McCullers has contributed since returning from a shoulder injury on May 13, winning three of his last four decisions. Sinkerballer Doug Fister has likewise been solid, and Houston has won the last 10 times he’s taken the hill.

Overall, though, Astros starters owned a 4.41 ERA entering play Wednesday. Continued improvement in that area—including a possible trade-deadline addition, a la Scott Kazmir last season—would go a long way.

Back on the good-news front, second baseman Jose Altuve (.343 average, .976 OPS) is putting together a superlative season at the plate. Shortstop Carlos Correa, who had a walk-off knock against Angels closer Huston Street on Tuesday, has raised his OPS nearly 40 points in June. George Springer is flexing his muscles with 15 homers, including 11 since May 1.

And supporting players like center fielder Carlos Gomez and third baseman Luis Valbuena have begun to pick it up.

The Astros are in the middle of the pack, literally, as they rank No. 8 in the AL in runs scored with 310. So shopping for a hitter at the August 1 trade deadline—a right-handed swinger to augment corner outfielder Colby Rasmus, perhaps—would be prudent.

A National League scout recently floated Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun as a possible target, per the Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo.

Whether or not they pull the trigger on a deal of that magnitude, at least the Astros are playing well enough to warrant such speculation.

One month into the season, it looked like they might already be buried. Now, they’ve dug their way out. In the parity-leveled, wide-open Junior Circuit, that’s all it takes.

“Early on, I think we were doing just enough to lose by a little—that’s the phrase that I always used,” manager A.J. Hinch said of his club’s out-of-the-gate struggles, per Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle. These days, they’re doing enough to win.

The Astros were almost dead. Long live the Astros.

All statistics current as of June 22 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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It’s normally unfair to put the struggles of any MLB club at the feet of a single player. It’s a team sport, there are nine men on the field, etc.

But if you’re a Houston Astros fan looking to play the one-man blame game with your squad’s dismal start, look no further than Dallas Keuchel.

After surrendering seven earned runs on nine hits in six innings in a 9-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Sunday, Keuchel owns an unsightly 5.92 ERA. And the Astros, not surprisingly, are just 3-7 in his starts.

Overall, Houston is 17-28, dead last in the American League West. One year after blossoming ahead of schedule, leading the division for most of the season and claiming a wild-card slot, the ‘Stros have sputtered big time.

And Keuchel, one year after winning an AL Cy Young Award, is sputtering the loudest.

Houston’s offense hasn’t lit the league on fire. Despite an early power binge from diminutive second baseman Jose Altuve, the Astros rank near the bottom in team batting average and in the middle of the pack in runs scored and OPS.

The rest of the pitching has wobbled, too, as the team’s 4.54 ERA attests.

Keuchel, though, isn’t merely another arm. He’s the ace, the stud, the stopper. The guy Houston was counting on to chew through innings and opposing hitters and anchor its staff.

Instead, the 28-year-old southpaw has vacillated between inconsistent and downright dreadful. 

“It’s very frustrating because I feel like I had some good stuff today, and it showed early,” Keuchel said after Sunday’s defeat, per MLB.com’s Chris Abshire. “If I show up on a few pitches here and there, it’s a totally different ballgame. It just seems like that’s the way it’s going right now.”

Indeed, Keuchel retired the first six hitters he faced. Then, as has so often happened this season, the wheels came off.

What’s going on? 

Entering play Sunday, Keuchel’s average fastball had dipped from 89.5 mph in 2015 to 88.2 mph. But he’s never relied on overpowering velocity.

Instead, Keuchel leans on location and getting hitters to pound the ball into the dirt. On that front as well, things are trending in the wrong direction. Keuchel’s ground-ball rate has dropped from 61.7 percent in 2015 to 55.5 percent.

As the Houston Chronicle‘s Jake Kaplan noted, Keuchel has been “nibbling too much on the corners,” and instead “needs to fill up the strike zone early in counts to then get batters to consistently chase pitches outside it.” 

Keuchel has issued 26 walks in 62.1 innings. Last year, he walked 51 in 232 innings.

He’s also getting punished with runners in scoring position. For his career, opponents have hit .291 against him in those situations. This season, that number has climbed to .364.

That could be due to command issues, but it could also be the result of some bad luck. We’re edging past the way-too-small-sample stage, but it’s still only May. 

“The frustrating part about it is he’s a good pitcher, and I don’t think he’s enjoying the success he deserves,” manager A.J. Hinch said, per Abshire. “Some of that is the league adjusting to it a little bit and making it more difficult and some of it is him overcoming these hurdles.”

Keuchel, a 2009 seventh-round pick, struggled in his first two big league seasons, posting plus-5.00 ERAs in 2012 and 2013 before putting together his first 200-inning, sub-3.00 ERA season in 2014. Then came 2015 and the attendant dominance and hardware.

Suddenly, Houston’s hirsute ace had vaulted to the forefront of MLB’s constellation of aces. 

Now, the dreaded “r” word—regression—is hanging on everyone’s lips.

Or there’s the “p” word—pressure. Sometimes a breakout season can cause a player to press. Keuchel himself trotted out that explanation.

“When you want to be perfect and you want to be so good, sometimes that kind of overcompensates and you backtrack, and that’s what I’ve been doing,” he said, per Kaplan. “I’m putting pressure on myself.”

At this point, he should be. The Astros have an enviable young core, including slugging outfielder George Springer and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa. But they need their pitching to pick it up if they’re going to claw back into the playoff picture. 

Adding an arm at the trade deadline is an option, as Houston did last year with left-hander Scott Kazmir. But any resurgence begins with Keuchel.

As he goes, so go the ‘Stros.

If that sounds like putting the blame for an entire team’s struggles at the feet of a single player, so be it.

All statistics current as of May 22 and courtesy of MLB.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez suffered a rib injury on May 13, and he was placed on the disabled list on May 17. It’s unclear when he’ll return to the field. 

Continue for updates.

Gomez Comments on Injury

Tuesday, May 17

Gomez told reporters he had been hoping to avoid a stint on the DL after hurting his ribs on Friday. 

Gomez Hoping to Find Swing After Slow Start 

Gomez, 30, had a rough start to the 2016 season, as he hit under .200 for much of April. He’s now batting .182 with no home runs and five RBI in 34 games. Those struggles mirrored that of the Astros in general, as the club was dreadful to open the season.

Houston acquired Gomez last season before the trade deadline, and he helped lead the Astros to the playoffs, though he hit just .242 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 41 contests. His 12 total home runs between the Milwaukee Brewers and Astros were his fewest since 2011, though he did play in just 115 games last year.

He was better in the postseason, ripping off two home runs and three RBI in six October games. 

Gomez, one of the game’s more colorful players, remains one of the most important players in Houston’s lineup alongside burgeoning superstar Carlos Correa, established star Jose Altuve and a solid supporting cast that includes Colby Rasmus, George Springer and Luis Valbuena. 

The Astros shouldn’t lose too much production with Gomez out of action, as Preston Tucker—who often serves as the team’s designated hitter—will likely slide into the outfield. But getting Gomez back in the lineup as quickly as possible—and getting him hot down the stretch—will be crucial for the team as it tries to return to the postseason again this year.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez was forced to exit Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners with a hand injury after getting hit by a pitch. 

Continue for updates.

Gomez Diagnosed with Hand Contusion, Listed as Day-to-Day

Thursday, April 28

According to the Houston Chronicle‘s Jake Kaplan, Gomez’s X-rays came back negative. 

Houston acquired Gomez via trade from the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 because he is a two-time All-Star and former Gold Glove Award winner. His combination of power and speed makes him a threat at the plate, on the bases and in center field. The Astros are a better team with that versatility available on a daily basis.

Despite Gomez’s impressive track record, he struggled at the dish for the Astros in 2015, hitting .242 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 41 games, although he drilled two home runs in the postseason. Thus far in 2016, he is batting .197 with no home runs and just two RBI. 

The Astros made the playoffs last season and don’t necessarily need Gomez healthy to compete, especially with Preston Tucker available to occupy center field. However, Gomez’s track record indicates he would add more pop to the order and provide the defense of a former Gold Glove winner, which could prove to be the difference on the road to October.

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Jose Altuve: home run hitter.

Seriously, this is going to be a little tough to get used to, with the emphasis on “little.” Seriously, we’ve all accepted the idea that the Houston Astros second baseman is a big-time hitter, an All-Star, one of the better players in baseball.

But a home run hitter?

“He’s not a home run hitter,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said in a text message over the weekend.

That’s a relief. But the fact is Altuve began play Sunday with five home runs, two more than Giancarlo Stanton, who is a foot taller and a ton more suited to hitting baseballs out of stadiums. The fact is he had more home runs than Miguel Cabrera or Mike Trout or a whole bunch of other guys taller than he is—which could mean just about anyone in baseball.

Oh, and the fact is that when you say Altuve hit five home runs in his first 55 at-bats of 2016, you also have to say that it wasn’t a fluke.

Just as we once had to say that Altuve was 5’6″ but could still play, now we’ve got to say he’s 5’6″ but still strong.

“He’s a good hitter who is maturing into an even more complete hitter,” Hinch said.

Part of that maturity is learning how to drive the ball for more power. Altuve had 47 doubles in 2014 and 40 last year. He went from never getting to double digits in home runs to hitting 15 in 2015.

As Eno Sarris pointed out on FanGraphs, Altuve‘s fly-ball ratio has steadily risen, and his exit velocity—the speed the ball comes off his bat—has jumped this year.

He may not be a home run hitter, but he’s a good hitter who shouldn’t surprise you if he hits 20 home runs in a season.

But it does surprise us because he’s 5’6″, or maybe not even that tall. It does surprise us because even though baseball history includes some little guys who hit home runs (Hack Wilson, also listed at 5’6″, hit 56 of them in 1930), they played a long time ago.

The Astros had a guy called the “Toy Cannon.” But Jimmy Wynn was listed at 5’10”, not 5’6″, and he averaged 23.4 home runs per season from 1965-1976.

It’s OK that it surprises us because it surprises Altuve, too.

This past week, he told Angel Verdejo Jr. and Reid Laymance of the Houston Chronicle:

It feels weird. I’m not the player that’s used to hitting a lot of homers. … I have to be surprised, because this is the first time I’ve hit five homers in two weeks. I would like to keep hitting homers, but I’m not going to go out there and try to do it. Because I feel like the moment I start trying to hit the homers, I’m going to stop hitting.

That hasn’t happened so far this season. Altuve is still a .300 hitter. He’s still getting on base and scoring runs.

He’s just a good hitter who is a lot stronger than he looks.

“He’s very strong pound-for-pound,” said one scout who follows the American League and knows Altuve well. “He can drive the ball to right-center field.”

Sure enough, the right-handed-hitting Altuve has already homered to right-center and right field this season. He has turned around mid-90s fastballs and feasted on a hanging slider from Anibal Sanchez.

He’s still the Astros’ leadoff hitter because that’s his job, and he’s good at it. Besides, do you think Hinch is going to bat a 5’6″ guy in the cleanup spot?

“He’s the best 5’5″ home run hitter in baseball!” the AL scout texted.

He’s the only 5’5″ or 5’6,” or whatever, home run hitter in baseball, except that, remember, Jose Altuve is not a home run hitter.

He’s a good hitter who hits home runs; a guy who has hit a few more this month and could well hit a few more this season.

But a home run hitter?

No, Jose Altuve is not a home run hitter. And that’s just fine.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.

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It’d be hackneyed—and overkill—to begin a dissection of the Houston Astros‘ slow start with “Houston, we have a problem.”

It’s April. There are 145 games left on the schedule. Grains of salt must still be liberally sprinkled over every statistic and slot in the standings.

But this isn’t how things were supposed to go for the Astros.

After blossoming ahead of schedule in 2015, snagging a wild-card slot and pushing eventual champions the Kansas City Royals to five games in the division series, the ‘stros entered the season as a popular American League darling.

Sports Illustrated picked Houston to win the World Series in 2016—and again in 2017.

Call it a double SI cover jinx if you want. But the point is Houston was a trendy pick to not only contend in the AL West but blast deep into October.

That goal, and those prognostications, are far from dashed. But after losing 6-2 to the Boston Red Sox Friday night, the Astros are languishing in last place at 5-12.

They were recently swept by their in-state rivals, the Texas Rangers, and they have dropped six of eight overall. The rocket isn’t smoking or plummeting to Earth, but warning lights are flashing.

The most obvious culprit so far has been the starting pitching.

Ace and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel has been unspectacular, posting a 3.71 ERA through four starts while allowing 27 hits and 11 walks in 26.2 innings. 

After that, it’s Scott Feldman (4.11 ERA), Doug Fister (5.94 ERA), Mike Fiers (6.48 ERA) and Collin McHugh (7.56 ERA). 

One thing this Astros rotation is missing—other than results—is heat. Entering play Saturday, their starters were dead last in MLB with an average fastball velocity of 87.8 mph, per FanGraphs. 

The return of the 22-year-old Lance McCullers, who is working his way back from a shoulder issue that surfaced in spring training, ought to help. He might be back by May, according to the team’s official website.

Last season, in his rookie campaign, McCullers fanned 129 in 125.2 innings while rankings among the game’s top 20 hardest throwers, again per FanGraphs. 

Speed isn’t everything, of course. But it’s important to give opposing hitters a variety of looks, and adding McCullers to the mix should do exactly that for Houston.

The team’s issues, however, don’t end there. 

The bullpen has also wobbled, particularly late-inning arm Ken Giles—acquired this winter from the Philadelphia Phillies for a package of prospects—who owns a 6.75 ERA.

The offense, meanwhile, has gotten a boost from the likes of second baseman Jose Altuve (.292 AVG., 5 HR, 7 SB), right fielder George Springer (.275 AVG., 4 HR, 11 RBI), left fielder Colby Rasmus (.286 AVG., 5 HR, 11 RBI) and shortstop Carlos Correa (.283 AVG., 3 HR, 7 RBI).

But others, including center fielder Carlos Gomez, third baseman Luis Valbuena and designated hitter Evan Gattis, are scuffling. Overall, Houston is hitting a pedestrian .238 and ranks in the bottom half of both leagues in runs scored.

All of that could be an early, anomalous blip. Perhaps the Astros are merely pressing under the weight of increased expectations.

That’s the diagnosis Keuchel seemed to suggest recently, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart:

It’s a very team-oriented sport, but at the same time, you have nine individuals on the same field, and if one guy is breaking down and not [paying] attention to the game or being a very knowledgeable baseball player, it shows. At times, that’s what we’ve had. We have to clean that up and be in sync, all nine of us, at the same time. You saw that last year, and we know what to do and we’ve got to get back to it.

The Astros aren’t the only up-and-coming club that has limped to a slow start. The Minnesota Twins, another 2015 darling, are also 5-12. 

Both squads have the talent to reverse course and jump back in the race. Of the two, Houston is the more complete team. 

McCullers‘ return, coupled with more consistent production up and down the lineup, would do wonders. 

Plus, as Angel Verdejo Jr. of Chron.com pointed out, the Astros, “played a loaded schedule to start, opening against the [New York] Yankees and facing the Royals and [Detroit] Tigers to open their home slate before playing the Rangers and [Boston] Red Sox.”

You could argue, correctly, that those are the teams Houston has to beat to claim American League supremacy.

The point, though, is the Astros will get another chance. And another. And another. The season is just beginning. 

The Astros don’t have a problem—not yet anyway. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be searching for solutions.

All statistics current as of April 22 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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The Houston Astros are missing something, but it’s hard to put a finger on it…

Wait, no. There it is. Clearly, what they need is a healthy Lance McCullers.

Following their return to the postseason in 2015, the Astros’ starting rotation has been their biggest problem in their disappointing 5-10 start to 2016. It’s struggling with a 4.83 ERA, and even that figure doesn’t do its mediocrity justice.

Though he hasn’t been especially sharp, reigning American League Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel is doing fine with a 2.18 ERA through his first three starts. After him, however, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers, Scott Feldman and Doug Fister have done this:

Based on their track records, these four should settle down eventually. But even if they do, they might not answer the big question: Do the Astros even have a legit No. 2 starter to go with Keuchel?

That job officially belongs to McHugh, but his slow start is a reminder that his 19 wins last season oversell how good he was. His 3.89 ERA equated to an ERA+ of just 102, qualifying him as only a slightly above-average pitcher.

McHugh also doesn’t have the wares of a dominant pitcher. He has solid control to go with an approach that’s heavy on breaking balls, but that basically just makes him a Bronson Arroyo clone. That comp highlights McHugh as a good guy to have, but not so much the best guy to trust as a No. 2 starter.

The Astros would be better off with a No. 2 who’s legitimately dangerous, which naturally brings us back around to McCullers.

McCullers isn’t already around because he’s still recovering from right shoulder inflammation that sidelined him in spring training. That process could be going more smoothly, as the 22-year-old recently had a rehab start scratched due to nagging soreness.

It doesn’t sound like that was a major setback, though. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported that McCullers threw a bullpen session on Tuesday, and he is scheduled for another on Friday. The Astros website listed McCullers as a possible May return.

If McCullers can return at full strength, the Astros will be welcoming back a former first-round pick who posted a 3.22 ERA and struck out roughly a batter per inning in 22 starts as a rookie last season. Even better, his stuff would be a much-needed change of pace for Houston’s starting staff.

One thing that’s noticeably absent from Houston’s rotation is velocity. Astros starters went into Wednesday averaging only 87.9 mph on their fastballs—easily the lowest in baseball. In a much-related story, Astros starters are averaging only 6.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

McCullers can fix this. He averaged 94.5 mph with his four-seam fastball last season, which put him among the league’s top 20 hardest-throwing starters (min. 120 innings). For name-drop purposes, he threw as hard as Chris Sale.

And the heck of it is, McCullers‘ mid-90s fastball might actually be his worst pitch.

McCullers also throws a curveball that’s among the league’s hidden gems. It also has terrific velocity, as no other starter threw a faster curveball than McCullers last season. And despite its velocity, McCullers‘ hook didn’t skimp on movement. 

As Ryan Flaherty can vouch, sometimes McCullers‘ curve has a little extra of both:

With its combination of velocity and movement, Astros pitching coach Brent Strom told David Laurila of FanGraphs that McCullers‘ curveball reminded him of Craig Kimbrel’s devastating hook. When FanGraphs‘ Jeff Sullivan ran the numbers, he found that actually was the best comp for McCullers‘ curve. “The two pitches are essentially brothers,” Sullivan wrote.

McCullers‘ collection of nasty secondaries doesn’t stop at his curveball. His changeup took some time to develop, but it didn’t look like a pitch that was still in development last season. From Cespedes Family BBQ comes this GIF of a 94 mph changeup that made Melky Cabrera flail like a newborn:

Overall, McCullers sat close to 90 mph with his changeup in 2015. According to Baseball Prospectus, no other starter who threw at least 200 changeups did better.

Looking out across the present baseball landscape, another guy who can throw a 90 mph changeup is New York Mets right-hander/uber-pitcher Noah Syndergaard. The guy McCullers is trying to emulate, though, is Felix Hernandez.

“He’s on the Mt. Rushmore of changeups,” McCullers told Ted Berg of USA Today. “Before, you idolized guys because they throw like you, or you like the way they pitch, but now you can actually find guys that you think you kind of relate to—arm-angle wise and whatnot—and try to recreate pitches that they’ve mastered.”

McCullers did more than a fine job of recreating King Felix’s changeup last season. According to Brooks Baseball, both the velocity (89.8 mph) and arm-side fade (8.0 inches) of his changeup were reminiscent of Hernandez’s changeup at its peak.

Of course, McCullers isn’t perfect. He walked 3.1 batters per nine innings last season, topping the starting pitcher average of 2.7. And with so many moving parts in his delivery, it’ll be tough for him to drastically improve on that.

But when you have Sale’s fastball velocity, Kimbrel’s curveball and Hernandez’s changeup, you don’t necessarily need great control to thrive. McCullers showed as much last season. And if he can put his bad shoulder behind him, he should pick up right where he left off.

That would give the Astros an ideal No. 2 to go with Keuchel and would decrease the pressure on McHugh, Fiers and Feldman/Fister to be anything more than innings-eaters. With Houston’s offense already raking, the only outstanding problem left would be its bullpen. And considering that it was elite last year and now has a normally excellent Ken Giles, that problem should fix itself.

In so many words, the Astros may only be just one player away from taking off. Other sub-.500 teams around the league only wish they could say the same.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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