Keuchel not expected back until after All-Star break

With the Houston Astros playing their best baseball in years, manager A.J. Hinch confirmed Sunday that the club will not rush injured ace Dallas Keuchel as he recovers from a neck injury.

"He's continuing to progress," Hinch said prior to the Astros' game against the Seattle Mariners, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

"We're going a little bit slower than maybe we could or he could, just being conservative. We've worked so hard to get him to continue to progress with no setbacks. We want to just keep methodically putting a few more challenges in front of him and making him feel a little bit better."

Keuchel was first placed on the disabled list with a pinched nerve in his neck on May 20. He returned only seven days later and made two starts in which he performed well, before hitting the shelf once again with a similar issue.

He now has an extended period of time to heal the nagging injury, as the Astros return from the All-Star break on July 14.

"I'm never comfortable enough to not want to play the best players, but we would be making a huge error if we pushed him to the point of stressing him and potentially losing him for longer," Hinch said.

"We've worked so hard to get him back to where he is now. We're going to stay very, very conservative and very diligent in getting him back to full strength."

In 11 starts this year, Keuchel has gone 9-0 with a major-league leading 1.67 ERA and has accumulated 3.3 WAR.