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