Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is still recovering from surgery on his throwing arm. The right-handed hurler is reportedly trending in a promising direction, however, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

“Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. will make his second rehab start Saturday for Double-A Corpus Christi at Frisco,” McTaggart wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

McCullers is reportedly set to make his second rehab start. It remains to be seen how many rehab starts McCullers will require before joining the big league ball club, but his return to the Astros could come sooner rather than later if no setbacks occur.

The Astros are hoping to have McCullers available for a respectable amount of the 2025 season. Houston will understandably proceed with caution in reference to McCullers' return, though. The 31-year-old has not pitched at the MLB level since 2022.

Lance McCullers Jr. hoping to impact Astros during 2025 season

McCullers' injuries have been unfortunate to say the least. He earned an All-Star selection in 2017 and continued to display signs of becoming one of the better starting pitchers in the game in the following seasons.

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Could McCullers still establish himself as a reliable MLB pitcher? Absolutely, but bouncing back from injuries is already a difficult thing to do. Trying to rebound after not pitching at the big league level for multiple years is even more challenging.

The Astros clearly still have belief in Lance McCullers Jr. Houston could have moved in a different direction, but they are not giving up on the 2017 All-Star.

The Astros have endured a rather mediocre start to the '25 campaign. Houston holds a 2-2 record as of this story's writing. The team has plenty of uncertainty this year, but counting the Astros out is always a risky thing to do.

Tuesday night's first pitch for the Giants-Astros contest is scheduled for 8:10 PM EST.