West Palm Beach, FL (SportsRadio 610)- Lance McCullers Jr threw a 35-pitch bullpen on Monday morning and is expected to face hitters in a live batting practice session this weekend as he gets closer to returning to a Major League mound for the first time since the 2022 World Series,
“Today is my little completion of the bullpen section of my return to play,” McCullers said. “Feel pretty sharp. Happy with the way things have been going, so next step would be to face some hitters.”
McCullers threw all four of his pitches on Monday while throwing his fastball at 89-91 MPH. McCullers said he’s happy with where his velocity is right now, noting that he was throwing 88-90 MPH during his first live batting practice session during spring training in 2021 when he wasn’t returning from an injury.
“I went back before spring to 2021, and I was just watching my pens and watching my lives, and it kind of struck me that I wasn't throwing as hard as I thought I needed to throw, and I think that was something I got tripped up on in the last couple ramp ups,” he said.
McCullers finished 2021 with a 3.16 ERA in 162.1 innings, earning a seventh-place finish in the Cy Young race, before suffering a flexor tendon strain in the postseason, which cost him the first four months of the 2022 season.
He pitched to a 2.27 ERA in eight regular season starts in 2022, but underwent flexor tendon surgery in June of 2023. There was hope he’d be able to contribute to the Astros last season, but a setback during the summer ended those hopes.
“I try not to get too ahead of myself anymore, because I've been close many times,” McCullers said. “I'm happy that today went well. I'm feeling really good. I'm recovering really, really great.”
While he’s further away than McCullers, Luis Garcia also threw a bullpen on Monday morning as he attempts a comeback from 2023 Tommy John Surgery, but Shawn Dubin, expected to be in the mix for a bullpen spot, was sent back to Houston to have his right shoulder looked at.