In the wake of Wade Miley and Gerrit Cole’s departures, the Astros project to have quite a few starts on the mound available for the taking in 2020. Lance McCullers Jr., returning from Tommy John surgery, and Jose Urquidy, who was dynamite in September and October of 2019, project to slot into the vacant spots in the rotation to open the year, but neither has ever thrown a full big league starter’s workload, and it’s unreasonable to expect perfect health for the opening day five man rotation over the course of an entire season. It’s fair to wonder if the Astros might take a slightly different approach with McCullers, such as preceding him with an opener.
Potential 2020 Pitcher Debuts
