April 30: The Astros have made Blubaugh’s promotion official. His contract has been selected to the 40-man roster, which is now at capacity. Righty Bryan Abreu has been placed on the paternity list to clear a spot on the active roster.
April 29: The Astros are tabbing AJ Blubaugh to start tomorrow against the Tigers, the team announced to reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Athletic). The righty will go opposite another rookie, Jackson Jobe, in his major league debut. Houston already has an opening on the 40-man roster; they’ll only need to make an active roster move involving a pitcher.
Blubaugh, 24, is one of the top pitching prospects in a Houston system that is light on arms. A seventh-round pick from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 2022 draft, he has turned in a 4.02 ERA over 268 1/3 minor league innings. Drafted as a reliever, Blubaugh began a rotation move in 2023. He worked as a full-time starter a year ago, pitching to a 3.71 ERA in 28 appearances between the top two minor league levels. Blubaugh recorded a solid 24.5% strikeout percentage against a 9.4% walk rate.
The 6’2″ righty pitched in the Futures Game a season ago. He ranked among the top 10 prospects in the Houston system at both Baseball America and The Athletic (via Keith Law) over the offseason. He’s generally viewed as a likely back-end starter who has decent command of a fringe-average pitch mix. Blubaugh’s fastball velocity has ticked up early this year. He’s averaging 93.8 MPH on the pitch after sitting at 92.5 during his Triple-A work last season. He’s mixing five pitches (four-seam, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup) with regularity.
Blubaugh has found early success in a tough pitching environment in the Pacific Coast League. He carries a 3.86 ERA over 21 innings spanning five appearances. He has punched out 30% of opponents while walking batters at an elevated 10.8% rate. Blubaugh joins Colton Gordon as rotation depth options who occupy a 40-man roster spot.
It’s unclear if his first appearance will simply be a spot start. Hayden Wesneski would have been lined up on Wednesday. Manager Joe Espada said on Tuesday afternoon that the righty’s start would be skipped after he was pitching with diminished velocity during his start last Friday (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). Espada downplayed the notion that Wesneski was injured, though it’s worth nothing the Astros provide less in the way of health specifics than any other team. In any case, Blubaugh will get the ball at least once in his initial call to the big leagues.
I’ve had Blubaugh or two in my younger days
I wouldn’t wish Blubaugh on my worst enemy.
It’s awesome that he leans into it by wearing #69 in the minors.
It’s available- let’s see if he wears it in Houston.
You never forget your first Blubaugh experience
I’m sure high school was a delightful time for young AJ.
My first thought was what you call a blue bar(not like a green bar) near Boston.
Fans were starting to get Blubaughs waiting for this promotion.
The media can continue to claim the Astros lack pitching depth, and the Astros will just continue developing quality major league pitchers.
Hopefully they don’t change their minds and send him back down before his start. I’d hate to be Blubaughed like that.
It sounds as if one is speaking from experience in that regard? ; )
Geez, his younger years must’ve been a mfer. Especially on the first day of school when the teacher took attendance out loud, lol.
I came to this article for the jokes and I was not disappointed.
A matchup of Blubaugh countered by Richard Fitts, facing Miles Mastrobianni is what the MLB needs now.
Would love City Connects jerseys that really put this over the top.
Right now, young Blubaugh is being frightfully pounded during his maiden voyage by some merciless Detroiters.
Not surprising. Blubaugh’s best work comes in spurts.
I’d imagine he didn’t have his best command at the edge of the zone today.
You usually only get Blubaughed after edging for a little while.
He didn’t pitch that badly against the Tigers today. He hot 6 strikeouts but he gave up two home runs that hurt him and cost the Astros the game. Gave up 7 runs but only two were earned due to errors. He deserves another start and will probably be a pretty good pitcher down the road.
The grand slam had an expected batting average of .090 and would have been a HR in only 4 of 30 parks. Decidedly unlucky.