McHugh will throw his first live batting practice session of the spring next week, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.
McHugh hasn't had any offseason health issues, so this is probably just caution in his preparation. Perhaps they're changing things with him because he's had first-half struggles over the last two seasons. (He failed to recover as well in 2016 as he did in 2015.) The right-hander is often forgotten in the middle to late rounds of fantasy drafts, but his career 8.13 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9 show that he has the skills to deliver an elite season, like the one he treated opportunistic owners to in 2014 (2.73 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 9.14 K/9, 2.39 BB/9).