Astros' Lance McCullers: Tinkers with third pitch

McCullers (elbow) is experimenting with two new changeup grips this spring, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. The right-hander said he wants to add "a little bit of a different wrinkle."

The changeup is the second wrinkle the 23-year-old is incorporating during spring training; we learned earlier this week that he's introducing a more compact arm action. McCullers has been mostly a fastball/curveball pitcher, but wants to add a little more "pitchability" to his game following a season in which he allowed more baserunners (1.54 WHIP). Despite the uptick in walks and hits in 2016, McCullers was able to limit damage, retaining the same 3.22 ERA that he had the previous season. Adding a third pitch along with his mid-90s fastball and wipeout curve could help reduce baserunners and prevent runs.