Ronel

Blanco

The right-hander struck out three with two walks, and he gave up just one hit. Blanco has been outstanding in 2024, and finishes his first year as a full-time starter with a 2.88 ERA in 167 1/3 innings. It was needed for the Astros with their issues with health, but fantasy managers certainly got their share of help, too. He’s expected to be a multi-inning option in the Wild Card round and potentially beyond.

Blanco gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out nine. It was his 12th win of the season. Blanco tied his season-high with nine strikeouts. He’s allowed two or less runs in seven of his last eight starts. Blanco has a 2.88 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 163 strikeouts in 162 1/3 innings on the year. The 31-year-old right-hander is set to face the Guardians on the road next weekend.

Blanco was making his first start since Sept. 1, having pitched once in relief on Sept. 7. He was terrific in spite of the layoff, and he’s now up to 13 scoreless innings this month. Although he’s perhaps being viewed as the Astros’ sixth starter right now, one would think he has a strong case for the postseason rotation. He’ll likely face the Angels again next weekend.

Blanco is no longer facing the Diamondbacks this weekend, but will rejoin Houston’s starting rotation next week as they transition back to a six-man mix with a jam-packed September schedule that doesn’t include a ton of off days. There was some speculation earlier this week that the 31-year-old righty would be moved to the bullpen, but that’s going to wait at least a couple more weeks.

The Astros are currently using a six-man rotation, but with the team likely to go to a five-man group in the next few days, that makes Blanco the odd-man out. The right-hander has pitched well for the overwhelming majority of the year, but it’s not surprising that the 31-year-old is the candidate most likely to make that move to relief. Unfortunately this would severely limit Blanco’s fantasy value, as it’s unlikely that he’s ever going to see a chance to pick up saves.

Blanco did not have an easy time with the Royals’ lineup despite shutting them out over five innings. He didn’t seem to have a feel for any of his secondary pitches as they either missed badly or caught far too much of the plate. Still, he grinded through multiple jams and made big pitches when he needed to, including a pinpoint slider forcing a groundout from Bobby Witt Jr. with two on in the fifth inning. Blanco is scheduled to face the Diamondbacks at home next time out.

Blanco surrendered seven hits, including a fifth-inning solo shot to Brandon Marsh. He finished with five strikeouts and only issued two walks. It was a nice bounce-back effort after getting tagged for five runs over 3 2/3 frames by the Red Sox in his previous outing. He’ll square off against the Royals on Sunday his next time out.

Blanco matched his high total with four walks tonight and needed 84 pitches to get 11 outs. Fatigue figures to become an issue here at some point, and while we’re not saying that was the problem tonight, it’s quite possible he’ll stumble to the finish line in his first full year as a starter.

The 30-year-old hurler had been dealing, needing just 73 pitches to navigate six scoreless innings with only two hits allowed. Had it not been for the comebacker that hit his hand, he surely would have returned for the seventh. Fortunately, X-rays came back negative for any fractures, and it sounds like Blanco should be okay to make his next scheduled start.

Blanco was not his best in this one. He struggled to put batters away as the Red Sox barely chased any pitches out of the strike zone. His curveball helped him work out of some jams and limit damage, but there was constant traffic on the bases. Long and stressful innings will lead to short outings like this one.