MLB-All Star Game: Just the beginning for Lance McCullers Jr.
The Houston Astros are sending six of their players to the MLB All-Star Game festivities and there’s one guy who is just getting started with the nominations.
Who am I talking about? I’m talking about Lance McCullers Jr., who earned his first MLB All-Star Game nod with the big game set to commence tomorrow night. There hasn’t been more of a steady hand in the lineup this season than McCullers. You could put Dallas Keuchel up in the conversation but he has been out for quite some time while McCullers time out wasn’t all that accentuated.
Did I expect him to be this good? Not exactly but I knew that he’d turn heads with his fiery style of play. He’s exactly the kind of candidate that you’d want to have nominated, being the superior athlete on and off the field. His “can-do” spirit and his undeniable work ethic are what got him there and will be what will continue to keep him going.
The Houston Astros have truly shocked the sports world by coming out of nowhere and dominating teams left and right. Although I know it’s a team effort, a huge chunk of that success falls on McCullers’ shoulders, each and every time he’s on the bump. And you don’t have to take my word for it.
All the numbers that count are at career-highs in terms of his outstanding performance to qualify for the MLB All-Star Game honors. He possesses a 7-2 record, 3.05 ERA, striking out 106 batters (which is already at his entire total for 2016), a stellar 2.73 FIP and outstanding 1.14 WHIP. His K/9 is has dropped a tad at 10.4 from 11.8 in 2016 but for all intents and purposes, he’s right where he needs to be.
This man is truly the real deal and the party is only getting started with him at age 23. He’s one of the league’s most prolific curveballers, using that as his final finishing move to strike his batters out. It’s certainly the reason why he’s been so good this year with the team’s focused emphasis on that pitch. It’s what resurrected Mike Fiers freefall — who McCullers worked with by the way — into the abyss of obscurity. Know Fiers struggles for the mound are a distant memory, if you don’t count his last start the other day. In fact, the Houston Astros use this pitch about 15 percent of the time, good at least the Top 5 in the league. That’s behind only the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians.
Next: Lance McCullers and his terrific curveball
That’s one of the ingredients for the Astros’ success this season. And without a doubt, there’s going to more in store for the young phenom of a pitcher that we have in McCullers. I hope he crushes it tomorrow night when he gets the call so that he may show the world what he’s got.
Go Astros.