Astros Star Pitcher Isn't Sure if This One Aspect of His Game Will Ever Come Back

The Houston Astros got Lance McCullers Jr. back at the perfect time.

While it took some time for the former ace to return following the surgery to repair his flexor tendon and remove bone spurs in his elbow -- more than two seasons since he pitched in a Major League Baseball game -- it seems like the wait was worth it.

In his last four starts following the disastrous outing on May 10 that resulted in death threats being levied against him and his family, McCullers has thrown 20 1/3 innings where he has given up just five runs, striking out 29 batters with six walks in that time.

His return also came when Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco went down with season-ending elbow injuries, testing the depth of the Astros once again when it comes to their starting pitching unit.

McCullers is looking like the past version of himself, bringing some high-strikeout stuff to the equation by using nasty breaking balls to pair with his multiple fastball variations.

However, there is one part of his game he doesn't know if he'll ever get back; velocity.

"I think, after my first surgery, I was a different pitcher and I had success," McCullers said, per Chron.com. "And I think after this surgery, I'm going to be a different pitcher and continue to find success. Obviously, the velo, I don't know if I'll ever be throwing 97-98 again, but you never know, some things take time."

Getting back to that fastball velocity doesn't seem likely.

Right now, he's averaging 91.4 mph on his sinker and 91.7 mph on his four-seamer.

McCullers will have to figure out how to pitch if he can't sit in the upper 90s with his fastballs on a consistent basis.

While his approach of using off-speed pitches has worked in the short term, it's hard to get Major League hitters out as a starter when that's the strategy because lineups will eventually adjust.

Regardless, it's been great to see McCullers back on the mound for Houston, and even though he might never get his top-end fastball velocity back to the level it once was, he's showing that he can still be an effective pitcher even after his two major arm surgeries.

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