Keuchel, McCullers huge factors for 2017
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The chemistry and culture have been ready ever since A.J. Hinch arrived.
Jose Altuve and George Springer are coming off career seasons, while Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman are years away from their theoretical primes.
Jim Crane finally spent real money this offseason. Long-respected veterans Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Josh Reddick should fill in the holes that were so evident last season.
So what could actually hold the 2017 Astros back? Pitching, of course. A strong bullpen is about the same on paper, and Ken Giles is a year removed from the pressure of 2016. But after a week at The Ballpark of the Palm
Beaches, two names ring out more than any other as general manager Jeff Luhnow enters his sixth Astros season and World Series chatter is again the accepted norm for the orange and blue.
Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers.
Those two are, of course, the Astros’ frontof-the-rotation starters. Which already tells you how much this club is depending on a true bounceback season from Keuchel and the first year McCullers has lasted from April to October.
“We need Keuchel and McCullers to get back to the form that we know they can deliver when they’re at their best,” said Luhnow, in many ways summing up the Astros’ high hopes for 2017 in one sentence.
Questions at the top underline questions about the entire staff, which has a shot to surprise but could also undermine every big offseason dollar Crane spent.
A week into the new show, everything is initially encouraging for Keuchel and McCullers. Both understand exactly what is at stake this year. Both are throwing bullpens without pain and saying all the right things.
“The five guys we will have will be enough to win the (American League) West and to make a playoff run. I firmly believe that,” said the 29-yearold Keuchel, who went 9-12 with a 4.55 ERA last season while recording 64 fewer innings than his 2015 AL Cy Young self.
Health is paramount
McCullers, 23, has more upside than Keuchel and still has “potential ace” written all over him. The hard-throwing righthander struck out 106 in 81 innings last season, again posted a sharp 3.22 ERA, and spent a month as one of the best pitchers in the game. But McCullers also made only 14 starts and is tweaking his delivery this spring in an attempt to relieve arm stress.
Until we actually see a full season out of McCullers and witness Keuchel’s revival, the Astros will face constant questions about their top two pitchers and every starter who follows the duo in the rotation.
Brad Peacock (9-17, 4.76 ERA in four Astros seasons) is hanging around the back of the mound, which hints at which way this thing could go if Keuchel and McCullers under deliver and Charlie Morton is a weaker version of Doug Fister.
“Starting pitching, in general, always feels the responsibility to set the tone,” Hinch said. “You never see a winning team not have a really good starting staff.
“They don’t have to be the biggest names; they don’t have to be the brightest stars. They have to be the most effective five- to nine-inning pitchers that they can be.”
Luhnow said the Astros have backup plans in place in case any starter goes down.
In the last two seasons under Hinch, everyone from Mike Fiers and Michael Feliz to Chris Devenski and Fister has carried the staff at times. The club has depth in the pen, while Joe Musgrove (4-4, 4.06 ERA in 2016) and intriguing rookie Francis Martes (9-6, 3.30 at Class AA Corpus Christi) could combine to be the 2017 version of McCullers’ sudden rise in ’15.
Then there’s the simple fact the Astros’ 1-9 daily lineup should finally be able to protect the staff if the club’s starting arms are its weakest link.
“There will be parts of seasons where the lineup carries the pitching staff,” McCullers said. “And there will be parts of seasons where the pitching staff carries the lineup.”
Keuchel highlighted last season’s World Series winner and AL West champ to illustrate the difference a few trusted arms can make during a marathon that can last nine months.
A cue from the Cubs
“You look at the Cubs last year,” he said. “They had a great staff the whole year in the regular season. That’s how you’re going to win 100-plus games. You’re going to score a lot of runs with the Rangers. But if they would have had a couple more starters … they would have had 100 wins.”
Until Keuchel and McCullers return to their former selves, these Astros feel more like a promising playoff contender than a real championship threat. They’re clearly on schedule and the right path.
But they’re a couple of names away from teasing a World Series ring in the spring.