Breaking Down the Astros 2026 Starting Pitching Rotation

Brown was the opening day starter for the first time in his career this year and went 4.2 innings of scoreless baseball. He threw 102 pitches and gave up four hits. It wasn’t his best, but Diesel, as he’s known in Houston, will be leading the rotation from the front with his electric fastball. 

2. Mike Burrows

The Astros front office clearly has high expectations for Burrows, as they gave up two top prospects to get him in a December trade. He was excellent during spring training, and that’s why Burrows is second in line as a starter. He threw 18 innings and started five games. Burrows gave up just three runs total and posted a 1.50 ERA. 

He struggled in his first start of the season and gave up five earned runs and nine hits in 5.2 innings pitched. He did have six strikeouts and threw 94 pitches, but also gave up two home runs. The young pitcher will look to bounce back. Burrows had a 3.94 ERA last season and went 2-4 in 19 starts and 23 total games. 

3. Cristian Javier

The now 29-year-old is one of the more experienced Astros pitchers. It seems like he might finally be healthy and on the other side of Tommy John surgery, done in 2024. Javier was inconsistent in his return of eight starts last season, but after a full offseason and spring training, he has the potential to be a top-line starter when healthy. 

Javier made three spring training starts and posted a 1.69 ERA as he gave up two earned runs in 10.2 innings. Javier has come through in big postseason starts throughout his career. He has a career 3.66 ERA and a 35-22 record since his debut in 2020. 

4. Tatsuya Imai

Starters pitch only once a week in Japan, so Imai is going fourth in the rotation after pitching the exhibition game last Monday to slowly build up. It will be interesting to see if his success and variety of pitchers translate to the major league level. 

Imai was closely watched during spring training and put up a perfect 0.00 ERA in three starts. He only pitched six innings, but gave up two hits and 0 runs. The 27-year-old has high expectations and posted just a 1.92 ERA in 163.2 innings pitched last season for the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. 

5. Lance McCullers Jr. 

This was a surprise, but it was well earned. The grizzled veteran in McCullers Jr. made the starting rotation and will get the start to begin the Red Sox series. While many expected Spencer Arrighetti to make this spot, given McCullers Jr.’s recent struggles, it proved otherwise in spring training. 

LMJ had a great spring and showed up in great form. The velocity was up, and after a complete offseason to recover his arm, the Astros would love to have a prime McCullers show up in what he says is his last year in Houston. McCullers Jr. made three spring training starts and posted a 3.38 ERA. He gave up three runs in eight innings. 

McCullers Jr. returned to game action after an almost two-and-a-half-year absence, thanks to a multitude of injuries. After pitching Game Three of the 2022 World Series, he finally came back in May 2025. He struggled with a 6.51 ERA and 2-5 record while giving up 40 earned runs in 55.1 innings. McCullers Jr. even moved to the bullpen, but it didn’t work. A fresh 2026 start could be the trick. 

The Astros are likely to move to a six-man rotation soon, and Arrighetti would be part of the mix then. Regardless, Houston has the depth to compete with anyone in the American League.