Per reports from the New York Post and MLB.com, the Brewers picked up some pitching depth on July 15. Lance McCullers Jr., an Astro since 2015, was reportedly traded alongside Colton Gordon to the Milwaukee Brewers.
A Look at McCullers & Gordon
The Astros are the only organization that Lance McCullers Jr. has ever known, as Houston drafted him in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft that also netted the club Carlos Correa. For much of the last decade, McCullers Jr. has been a staple of the Astros’ rotation.
We say most because, even though McCullers Jr. made his debut in 2015, the right-hander missed all of 2019, plus the 2023 and 2024 campaigns due to injury. McCullers Jr. made just 13 starts last season, and this year, eight. He went on the IL with shoulder inflammation in May but has been rehabbing since June.
When he was on the mound, the results were not particularly great. McCullers Jr. posted ERA figures above 6.00 in each of the last two seasons. Over eight starts, McCullers Jr. had a BB/9 of 5.1, as well as a HR/9 of 1.61.
McCullers Jr. doesn’t throw hard at all, as the righty will top out at around 91-92 MPH, and usually averages 90 MPH. However, he is more of a feel pitcher than one who will overwhelm, and one thing to note about him is that even though much of the raw production wasn’t there, some metrics make sense of why the Brewers likely wanted him.
His swing-and-miss on the knuckle-curve and changeup, albeit in a smaller sample size, was up this season.
The Brewers also acquired Colton Gordon, who made his MLB debut last season for Houston. Gordon, who, like McCullers Jr., doesn’t throw hard but will mix his stuff, spent a good amount of time in the Astros’ rotation last year. This year, he worked mostly in Triple-A, with only a smattering of time in the big leagues.
While Gordon struck out 11 over 9.1 IP in four 2026 MLB appearances, he conceded six home runs.
Analysis
As we noted in our first-half recap for the Brewers, Milwaukee only received 10+ starts from three pitchers: Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, & Brandon Sproat. Aside from those three, there has not been much consistency in that rotation.
Now, McCullers Jr. does come with his own risk, although not much beyond this year. His contract is up at the end of 2026, and realistically, there’s more upside than one might think with McCullers Jr. At his best, he’s a good sinkerballer who can jam hitters and elicit swing-and-miss.
From Houston’s point of view, it’s a salary dump, and one that allows the ‘Stros to clear away some of the extra bodies in the rotation. With Hunter Brown now healthy, Peter Lambert now an established big-league pitcher, and Ronel Blanco & Hayden Wesneski working their way back, Houston can move on from both McCullers Jr. and Gordon.
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