Houston Astros: How to deal with the Lance McCullers Jr. situation

The Houston Astros top-notch pitcher is in a bit of a fix at this moment and there are a plethora of solutions to get him back on track.

The Houston Astros have a bit of a situation on their hands and it’s transitioning to a point to where there needs to be a solution.  Yes, I’m talking about Lance McCullers Jr. and how he has struggled over the last few starts since returning off the DL June 24.  He’s still has incredible velocity but he’s having trouble locating, finding where to do the most damage with his repertoire of pitches.

He just doesn’t look the same out there.  Is he still not fully healed from his injury?  It’s quite possible or it may be just something that’s largely mental.  He can’t even get through five innings of work as of late.  Either way, something has be done to ensure he’s the guy we’ve all come to love as our No. 2 guy in the rotation.

Here’s what McCullers said yesterday in regard to his woes via the Chron’s Jake Kaplan:

Let’s hope that’s all there is that’s going on with him.  There are a myriad of solutions to combat this problem as well.  But here are the two most viable options — the Houston Astros can put him on the DL for some time to work things out or the team can go to a six-man pitching rotation.  I would prefer the latter as I’m just not a fan of the guy getting more out of rhythm by missing time.  I think we have a large enough of a cushion in the standings where this team can go to a six-man rotation.

Yes, I said it!  McCullers, Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and Brad Peacock are perfect men for the job as they’ve proven that if healthy, they can stand the test of time.  It’s certainly a huge risk to ascertain but I think with building his rest in his starts could work wonders for him while tries to get that coveted command back of his fastball.

Luckily this is happening in July, not in September, so there’s plenty of time for things to get righted before the team starts to hit their stride down the home stretch.  But I know things can’t continue within this trend and something has to be done.  And it’s certainly better to do so sooner than later.

Next: Brad Hand should be on the Astros radar

McCullers has posted a 5.03 ERA, while tossing 25 strikeouts, allowing 15 earned runs with a 1.46 WHIP through 23.3 innings pitched in five starts since his return from the DL.

Go Astros.