Unfortunately, Collin McHugh will not be part of the rotation for the first two turns. McHugh will pitch in today’s Houston Astros game, but he is not ready to go 5-7 innings. He pitched in a minor league game last Wednesday. According to Brian McTaggart, McHugh threw 41 pitches topping out at 88 mph. He is not ready to go all out and reach the nineties with his fastball.
As we talked about yesterday on Talking Stros, it will be better if McHugh starts the season on the DL. This will also allow the team to see exactly what Brad Peacock can offer this year as the long reliever.