Ronel Blanco's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Houston Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco plans to appeal his automatic 10-game suspension after he was ejected during his start on Tuesday against the Oakland Athletics in the fourth inning after umpires determined his glove had a foreign substance on it. Manager Joe Espada said that Blanco had a mixture of rosin and sweat on his glove hand, which is illegal under league rules. Depending on when his appeal is heard, Blanco may be able to make his next scheduled start. Before being ejected on Tuesday against the A's, the 30-year-old Dominican hurler had tossed another three shutout innings and is now 4-0 on the season with a sparkling 2.09 ERA (4.00 FIP) and 1.06 WHIP with 21 walks and 45 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings over his eight starts. He's been a must-start in all fantasy leagues but will likely be forced to miss a start soon.

Houston Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco was ejected from his start against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday before the start of the fourth inning after umpires checked his glove for foreign substances. As a result, the 30-year-old will be suspended by Major League Baseball for 10 games if it's confirmed that he used an illegal substance on his glove. Before being ejected, Blanco had thrown three scoreless innings while walking one and striking out four to lower his season ERA to 2.09. It's more bad news for an Astros' starting rotation that has really been thinned this year by injuries. Blanco came into Tuesday's solid matchup against Oakland with a 2.23 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 20 walks and 41 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings. Even though he's set to miss his next start while on suspension, fantasy baseball managers are going to want to keep Blanco on their rosters.

Houston Astros starting pitching Ronel Blanco looks to continue his hot start to the season when he faces the Colorado Rockies in Mexico City on Saturday. Blanco has been one of the bigger surprises of the season so far, starting off with a bang by throwing a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays in his season debut. He's been the Astros' best starter, posting up a 1.33 ERA with 22 K in 27 innings pitched. His xwOBA of .232 ranks in the top 6% of the league, pointing to the fact that what we're seeing may be real results and Blanco hasn't been lucky. He'll face a tough test in Mexico City. Maybe not necessarily because of his bleak opponent, but because of the altitude at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu which sits nearly 2,000 feet higher than Coors Field. If he can keep control of his pitch mix then Blanco should keep on rolling on Saturday in what would normally be a very favorable matchup.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco had a memorable first start of 2024 in Monday's 10-0 win over the Blue Jays. The 30-year-old tossed a no-hitter, allowing two walks and seven strikeouts on 105 pitches. Blanco likely would not have been in the starting rotation if not for several injuries but made the most of his opportunity by completing the 17th no-hitter in franchise history. He is currently rostered in just 10 percent of leagues, so he is widely available. However, his next start will be a tough matchup at the Rangers, so fantasy managers may want to wait to start him even if they do pick him up.

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada said he told right-hander Ronel Blanco in the dugout after his outing on Tuesday against Triple-A Sugar Land that he has won a starting rotation spot to open the regular season. Blanco's performance on Tuesday (10 strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings) convinced Espada apparently. The 30-year-old Dominican hurler will grab the team's final rotation spot with both Justin Verlander (shoulder) and Jose Urquidy (forearm) starting the year on the injured list. Blanco will have at least several turns through the rotation to prove himself after going 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA (5.99 FIP) and 1.48 WHIP with 28 walks and 52 strikeouts in 52 innings over 17 appearances (seven starts) for Houston a year ago. He had a 4.74 ERA and 1.37 WHIP as a starter and will only be worth a flier in AL-only fantasy leagues.