McCullers faces – Lance McCullers Jr. faced hitters in live batting practice for the first time since a shoulder issue sidelined him in May. The right-hander threw 25 pitches at Daikin Park, and his shoulder diagnosis is a rotator cuff impingement—an update that comes with a mi
Houston watched one of its most familiar names work through the next step of his recovery on Friday—25 pitches thrown at Daikin Park, and then a clear message: the Astros believe Lance McCullers Jr. is moving forward.
The right-hander returned to live batting practice for the first time since being out with a shoulder issue in May. McCullers threw 25 pitches before Houston’s game, working against teammates Taylor Trammell and Brice Matthews. In the session, he mixed in a fastball that sat in the low 90s with his slider.
For fans who have been wondering what progress actually looks like. McCullers offered the key detail himself: the shoulder injury was a rotator cuff impingement. He said it had been affecting him for several outings before he was placed on the injured list on May 16 due to right shoulder inflammation.
That live batting practice mattered because it wasn’t just a workout—it was a checkpoint. McCullers’ next assignment is expected to be a minor league rehabilitation start, with a rehab outing scheduled for next week.
Before he landed on the injured list. McCullers made eight starts this season. posting a 2-3 record with a 6.86 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The Astros’ rotation, meanwhile, has leaned heavily on production coming from elsewhere. Entering the weekend, Houston carried a 4.87 team ERA, the third-highest mark in Major League Baseball.
There’s added urgency to any improvement, too. McCullers is in the final season of his five-year, $85 million contract. He returned to the mound in 2025 after a two-and-a-half-year absence. and last season ended with a 6.51 ERA across 55 1/3 innings in 16 appearances. including 13 starts. His comeback campaign has been repeatedly interrupted—by a right foot sprain in June. a blister on his pitching hand that kept him off the mound in July and August. and right-hand soreness in September.
One live batting practice can’t erase that history. But it can shift the conversation—especially when Houston is also seeing other pieces move.
Right-hander Ronel Blanco provided another piece of that hope on Friday. Recovering from Tommy John surgery after suffering a torn UCL, Blanco threw three scoreless innings for the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Astros. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five batters.
Blanco’s current rehab feels tied to what he showed when he was healthy. In 2024. he finished with a 13-6 record and a 2.80 ERA. logged 167.1 innings. and threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays in his first start of the year. In 2025, he posted a 3-4 record with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in nine starts before undergoing surgery.
With McCullers, Blanco, and Cristian Javier all progressing through recovery programs, Houston is starting to line up potential reinforcements for an injury-riddled pitching staff—exactly what the rotation has needed as the season has moved on.
The sequence is simple: McCullers facing hitters again, Blanco getting work done after surgery, and rehab schedules pointing to a next step next week. For a club staring at a team ERA that ranks near the top of MLB’s problems, those are the kind of updates that change how the next couple weeks feel.
Houston Astros Lance McCullers Jr Ronel Blanco shoulder injury rotator cuff impingement minor league rehab Tommy John surgery Florida Complex League Astros MLB pitching staff