Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Astros Star Struggles in Return but Feels He's 'Not Super Far Away' From Improving

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI | By Brad Wakai | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 9:00 AM ET

On Friday, the Houston Astros got a key member of their rotation back when Lance McCullers Jr. was activated off the injured list.

He was the first of what the Astros hope are two significant moves, with Luis Garcia also expected to make his return to the big league mound at some point soon, although the timeline continues to be unknown regarding when exactly that is going to happen.

The addition of McCullers was a big one in the sense that Houston has been decimated by injuries all year and they need players to start eating innings at th is stage of the season, something they would gladly take from their former ace despite his lackluster performance thus far.

But on Friday, it was another frustrating day for the right-hander, with him exiting the contest with a final stat line of three earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and five walks in four innings pitched. While two of those runs can be attributed to Cam Smith's misplay in right field where the ball bounced out of his glove, it still was not a sharp performance from McCullers.

Lance McCullers Jr. Says He's Close To Turning the Corner

James A. Pittman-Imagn Images

His season-long ERA is now up to 6.89 across 12 starts, with 54 strikeouts and a staggering 34 walks being issued in 38 1/3 innings of work. Coming back from his lengthy absence, some rust was expected, and it certainly hasn't helped that he's been on the injured list twice since first making his return.

McCullers' performance this year has been more than enough for everyone to be concerned about his viability going forward, but the veteran starter believes he's close to turning the corner so he can become a high-end arm like he once was.

"It's not super far away," he said, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic (subscription required). "It feels like I'm super close, but it's easier said than done sometimes."

Astros Need McCullers To Find His Form

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

As long as he's healthy and available, McCullers is going to pitch for Houston. But they need him to figure things out sooner rather than later when it comes to actually being a weapon for them down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Hunter Brown looks like the only trustworthy starter right now since Framber Valdez's production has fallen off a cliff in August, which does not bode well for the Astros when the calendar flips to October. Getting to that point is the first challenge Houston has to overcome, though.

Leading the AL West by two games entering Saturday, the Astros will play a stretch of 22 games in 23 days starting on Tuesday, something that can wear down even the deep est rotations that are full of guys performing at their peak.

Houston has to hope McCullers is right when he says he's close to putting everything together. Because if he's not, and these are the performances they are going to get for the foreseeable future, this pitching staff is in major trouble.