Astros' Dallas Keuchel: Will make Grapefruit League debut Sunday

Keuchel (shoulder) is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Sunday against the Nationals, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Analysis:

While checking in with team trainers Wednesday morning, Keuchel reported no complications following his 39-pitch simulated game a day earlier, allowing the Astros to clear him for an appearance over the weekend. It's unlikely that Keuchel will be asked to cover more than a couple of innings, but he shouldn't face any pitch limits by the time Opening Day arrives. Keuchel is coming off a rough season in which he posted a 4.55 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 168 innings, but with some expected correction in his 68.4 percent strand rate and 16.4 percent HR/FB rate, the lefty looks like a decent bet to deliver a sub-4.00 ERA in 2017.