Astros’ Lance McCullers, Jr. Pitches For Pups And A Pennant

“You’re a better activist than you are a pitcher,” tweeted the otherwise anonymous fan. Houston Astros starting pitcher, Lance McCullers, Jr., the recipient of that assessment, gladly replied, “I take pride in that. Thanks for the compliment.”

As a key front line piece of Houston’s starting rotation, any mention of the right-handers’ proficiency in another arena is high praise, indeed.

Connection: Curves, Canines, and Clemente

When he’s not breaking batters’ knees with his killer curve, McCullers is the founder and active face of the Lance McCullers, Jr. Foundation, a philanthropic endeavor which “aims to invest time and resources into the promotion of pet adoptions, raising awareness for shelters and programs, and continuing the journey to a no-kill world.”

In fact, McCullers was one of 30 major leaguers honored, this year, with a Roberto Clemente Award nomination. The Award is given annually to recognize the player who best represents the game of baseball through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

First awarded in 1971 to Willie Mays, Hall of Famer, Craig Biggio has been the only Astro to win the Award. He did so in 2007, singling out his tireless work with The Sunshine Kids, a Houston-based non-profit that has been helping children with cancer since 1982.

Curtis Granderson of the Mets is the 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner.

Lance: Arm Strong

Eschewing a scholarship to the University of Florida, McCullers (son of former major league pitcher, Lance McCullers, 1985-’92) was drafted in the first round (41st overall) in 2012 by the Astros, out of Tampa’s all-male, private Jesuit High School.

McCullers’ senior season saw him put up these numbers: 13-0 record, 0.18 ERA, with 140 strikeouts in 77.1 IP, which earned him the 2012 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award.

Video: Watch footage from his senior year (2012), plus McCullers interview while at Jesuit

While still a teenager, McCullers volunteered with Challenger Baseball, the Special Olympics, Metropolitan Ministries, the Head Start program, and served as an assistant at Tampa’s Bakas Equestrian Center for intellectually challenged children.

He also donated his time to a literacy outreach program as a motivational speaker for middle school children and to several food drives associated with Jesuit High.

Model of Insistency

Often, the Houston organization is characterized as one that will eagerly promote an MLB-ready pitcher directly from Double-A, while promoting an equally ready position player only after some time in Triple-A.

A well-known exception would be the eventual two-time batting champ/4-time All-Star, Jose Altuve, emerging from Double-A Corpus Christi in 2011 to burst upon the big league scene, eschewing AAA, altogether, at the age of 21. A combined (AA and Advanced-A Lancaster) 2011 batting average of .389 in 87 games virtually forces a team to call you up.

Frankly, who would have blamed then-GM Ed Wade had he brought up Altuve after his 2010 combined (Full Season A Lexington and Lancaster) BA of .301? No one I know within a 3 million light-year radius.

Related: Jose Altuve: MLB Preparing Smooth Transition of Power

In 2015, Houston cemented that “early” AA pitcher call-up paradigm by promoting both McCullers and then-teammate, RHP Vince Velasquez, now with the Phillies.

McCullers and Velasquez had essentially followed the same track in the Houston farm system for a couple years, both spending at least part of their 2013 at (Full Season Class A) Quad Cities, and pitching together, in 2014, at hitter-friendly Lancaster.

After spending 9 games (Velasquez: 33 IP, 4-0, 1.91 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) and 7 games (McCullers: 32 IP, 3-1, 0.56 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) with AA Corpus in 2015, both pitchers took the express to Houston as (mostly) starters. Velasquez turned in 55.2 IP for the Astros, with a 4.37 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, before being included as a key piece that brought closer Ken Giles from Philadelphia in late ’15.

Related: Closer Giles Now In 7-Player Swap

McCullers dropped jaws and opened eyes with a stunning debut season in 2015, logging 125.2 IP, a 6-7 record, with a 3.22 ERA (identical to his 2016 ERA), and a 1.19 WHIP.

Video: Watch McCullers whiff 11 O’s in a CG win, 6/3/15 (highlights)

In 2015, both McCullers and Velasquez contributed to a Houston pitching staff that led the American League with a 3.57 ERA.

McCullers concluded an abbreviated 2016 with a 6-5 record, a 1.54 WHIP and 106 strikeouts over 81 innings. Arm trouble loomed throughout, with DL stints (and rehab assignments) made necessary by right shoulder soreness (April 1), and right elbow discomfort (August 3). He even had shoulder tendinitis during Spring Training, 2016, and didn’t make his season debut until mid-May.

Interestingly, McCullers has disclosed recently, that had the Astros made it into the 2016 postseason, he was ready to contribute, having worked out in Florida in the weeks leading up to season’s end.

Model of Persistency

The Houston offseason has seen the team stockpile offensive power, lengthen the lineup, and balance the lefty-righty look of the starting nine. Persistent throughout, however, has been the perceived need (by media and even Houston GM Jeff Luhnow) for the Astros to improve their starting rotation, even at the cost of high-level prospects.

Shortly after the Winter Meetings ended (Dec. 8), Luhnow had this to say: “We do have ongoing discussions that may materialize over the course of the next week or so. I don’t know how to handicap it, but we’re certainly attempting to do everything we can to make sure we improve what is already a pretty good pitching staff.”

Unwilling to have Houston give up Francis Martes and Kyle Tucker (Houston’s top two prospects), with Joe Musgrove for the White Sox’ Jose Quintana, as has been widely reported, this reporter puts forward that all the Houston rotation needs are fewer injuries, a Keuchel, McHugh, and McCullers rebound, and a mandate to keep its top prospects. Anything less shortchanges what the rotation is capable of doing (and possibly aborts the team’s success in a couple years as prospects mature).

McCullers, himself, disagrees, in an early December audio interview with Astros County’s Lima Time Time : “You never turn down one of these guys (Quintana or Chris Archer, pitchers to whom the Astros have been linked in possible trade talks). If we go out and get one of these guys, it’s not like ‘we’re not good enough with what we have.’ It’s like, well, we just added another piece to try to win a World Series. If we don’t get one of those guys, I’m not gonna sit there and go, ‘We’re not good enough.'” Now, you’re talkin’.

McCullers’ Mission for 2017

The 6’1″, 205-pounder is living in Houston, currently, and has been proceeding with “normal” offseason conditioning, including weight-lifting at Minute Maid Park since early November. He’ll start throwing in mid-January, prepping for Spring Training check-in, February 14.

A year ago, McCullers’ offseason training regimen included chopping logs three times a week at a Tampa-area baseball field. Apparently, wielding an ax improves one’s grip and forearm strength.

With his shoulder and elbow issues still in the recent past, it’s possible McCullers is currently not being cleared to channel his inner Paul Bunyan.

Looking ahead, McCullers is philosophical, but hopeful, in forecasting the 2017 Astros: “You can’t predict health. If we have a 100% healthy roster, we’re gonna be a force, and it’s gonna be fun.”

Related: McCullers and other Astros react to the passing of the Marlins’ José Fernández, a longtime Tampa workout partner and good friend of Lance

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