{"id":116956,"date":"2026-03-28T17:43:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T21:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=116956"},"modified":"2026-03-28T17:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T21:43:40","slug":"breaking-down-the-astros-2026-starting-pitching-rotation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/28\/breaking-down-the-astros-2026-starting-pitching-rotation\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Down the Astros 2026 Starting Pitching Rotation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The opening weekend of MLB action is finally here. The pitching rotations for teams have been settled with spring training now in the rearview mirror. This was a key factor in deciding on the Houston Astros in 2026.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Breaking Down the Astros 2026 Starting Pitching Rotation<\/h2>\n<p>The starting pitching was a struggle in the second half of last season, especially due to all the injuries. The rotation was an area of focus for the Astros to upgrade, besides improving their health. More high-quality depth was needed, and Houston may have found that coming out of spring training.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Astros starting rotation looks different heading into this season. Framber Valdez left in free agency and signed with the Detroit Tigers. Houston added two big arms in the offseason that are now expected to be at the top of the queue under ace<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/hunter-brown-686613\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Hunter Brown.<\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Star Japanese right-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/05\/how-tatsuya-imai-officially-stabilizes-the-astros-pitching-rotation\/\" target=\"_self\">Tatsuya Imai<\/a> was the headline acquisition over the winter. He will obviously play a big role, but 26-year-old<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/mike-burrows-681347?stats=career-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2026\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Mike Burrows<\/a>, who was acquired in a trade with the Pirates, has quietly turned into a great under-the-radar pitcher for the upcoming year. Besides those two, there are a couple of other familiar names for Astros fans. The team is going with five starting pitchers at the start of the season, and here are the names in order:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>1. Hunter Brown<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB4qX3D0kp\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 5068px; aspect-ratio: 5068\/3379;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>The Astros ace is one of the best pitchers in the American League and finished third in AL Cy Young voting last year. Brown posted a 2.43 ERA in 31 starts and had a 12-9 record. He threw 185.1 innings and was the workhorse of the staff. He has continuously gotten better in each season.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ChaseTheFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#ChaseTheFight<\/a> Hunter Brown goes 4.2 innings, 4 hits, no runs, 9 K&#8217;s <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Astros?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Astros<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OpeningDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#OpeningDay<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q2MXheLXyc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/q2MXheLXyc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Az Sports Fan (@SameOleCards88) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SameOleCards88\/status\/2037328585942540499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Brown was the opening day starter for the first time in his career this year and went 4.2 innings of scoreless baseball. He threw 102 pitches and gave up four hits. It wasn\u2019t his best, but Diesel, as he\u2019s known in Houston, will be leading the rotation from the front with his electric fastball.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>2. Mike Burrows<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_116975\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-116975\" style=\"width: 6540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28600947.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"6540\" height=\"4362\" class=\"size-full wp-image-116975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28600947.webp 6540w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28600947-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28600947-600x400.webp 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_28600947-1200x800.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6540px) 100vw, 6540px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-116975\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 27, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Mike Burrows (50) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Astros front office clearly has high expectations<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/12\/20\/more-on-the-new-starting-pitcher-the-astros-got-in-3-team-trade\/\" target=\"_self\"> for Burrows, as they gave up two top prospects<\/a> to get him in a December trade. He was excellent during spring training, and that\u2019s why Burrows is second in line as a starter. He threw 18 innings and started five games. Burrows gave up just three runs total and posted a 1.50 ERA.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He struggled in his first start of the season and gave up five earned runs and nine hits in 5.2 innings pitched. He did have six strikeouts and threw 94 pitches, but also gave up two home runs. The young pitcher will look to bounce back. Burrows had a 3.94 ERA last season and went 2-4 in 19 starts and 23 total games.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>3. Cristian Javier<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB9KQbMMbU\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 2736px; aspect-ratio: 2736\/1824;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>The now 29-year-old is one of the more experienced Astros pitchers. It seems like he might finally be healthy and on the other side of Tommy John surgery, done in 2024. Javier was inconsistent in his return of eight starts last season, but after a full offseason and spring training, he has the potential to be a top-line starter when healthy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/cristian-javier-664299?stats=career-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2026\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Javier<\/a> made three spring training starts and posted a 1.69 ERA as he gave up two earned runs in 10.2 innings. Javier has come through in big postseason starts throughout his career. He has a career 3.66 ERA and a 35-22 record since his debut in 2020.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>4. Tatsuya Imai<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_116971\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-116971\" style=\"width: 6000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_27937642.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-116971\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_27937642.webp 6000w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_27937642-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_27937642-600x400.webp 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/USATSI_27937642-1200x800.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-116971\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jan 5, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai during a press conference at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Starters pitch only once a week in Japan, so<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/tatsuya-imai-837227?stats=career-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2026\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Imai<\/a> is going fourth in the rotation after pitching the exhibition game last Monday to slowly build up. It will be interesting to see if his success and variety of pitchers translate to the major league level.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Imai was closely watched during spring training and put up a perfect 0.00 ERA in three starts. He only pitched six innings, but gave up two hits and 0 runs. The 27-year-old has high expectations and posted just a 1.92 ERA in 163.2 innings pitched last season for the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>5. Lance McCullers Jr.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBbhAIBTBu\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3759px; aspect-ratio: 3759\/2506;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>This was a surprise, but it was well earned. The grizzled veteran in<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/lance-mccullers-jr-621121?stats=career-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2026\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> McCullers Jr.<\/a> made the starting rotation and will get the start to begin the Red Sox series. While many expected Spencer Arrighetti to make this spot, given McCullers Jr.\u2019s recent struggles, it proved otherwise in spring training.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>LMJ had a great spring and showed up in great form. The velocity was up, and after a complete offseason to recover his arm, the Astros would love to have a prime McCullers show up in what he says <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/02\/27\/what-lies-ahead-astros-veteran-pitcher-lance-mccullers-jr\/\" target=\"_self\">is his last year in Houston<\/a>. McCullers Jr. made three spring training starts and posted a 3.38 ERA. He gave up three runs in eight innings.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>McCullers Jr. returned to game action after an almost two-and-a-half-year absence, thanks to a multitude of injuries. After pitching Game Three of the 2022 World Series, he finally came back in May 2025. He struggled with a 6.51 ERA and 2-5 record while giving up 40 earned runs in 55.1 innings. McCullers Jr. even moved to the bullpen, but it didn\u2019t work. A fresh 2026 start could be the trick.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Astros are likely to move to a six-man rotation soon, and Arrighetti would be part of the mix then. Regardless, Houston has the depth to compete with anyone in the American League.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em><strong>(Top Image Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The opening weekend of MLB action is finally here. The pitching rotations for teams have been settled with spring training now in the rearview mirror. This was a key factor in deciding on the Houston Astros in 2026.\u00a0 Breaking Down the Astros 2026 Starting Pitching Rotation The starting pitching was a struggle in the second [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5612,"featured_media":116972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,2,1071],"tags":[28622,246,3912,29149],"class_list":["post-116956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astros","category-featured","category-mlb","tag-cristian-javier","tag-houston-astros","tag-lance-mccullers-jr","tag-tatsuya-imai"],"modified_by":"Matthew Nethercott, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116956"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116978,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116956\/revisions\/116978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}