MLB Awards Watch 2015: Top 5 AL ROY end-of-season rankings

5. Lance McCullers

Sep 28, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers (43) throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Keuchel may be a frontrunner for the AL Cy Young award, but the Houston Astros owe their success this season to several other starting pitchers as well. One of those is rookie right-hander Lance McCullers, who made his first big league start on May 18 and rarely looked back.

McCullers took the hill 22 times this year in the regular season, throwing 125.2 innings to the tune of a 3.22 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 3.00 K/BB ratio. He will remember a June 3 outing against Baltimore as a highlight of his rookie campaign, as he tossed a complete game against the Orioles, limiting them to one run on four hits while striking out eleven.

His debut season would have been even more impressive if not for a disastrous start on August 3 at Texas when he managed to secure only one out against the Rangers while getting tagged for six runs. McCullers also made a temporary sojourn back down to the minors that month to limit his innings.

McCullers turned 22 years old only days ago, so it’s fair to say that the best may be yet to come in the case of this young hurler. He will be a major piece of an Astros future that is very much trending upward.

Next: Rookie #4