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

Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco capped off a great spring in Tuesday's 7-3 exhibition game win over Triple-A Sugarland. Blanco pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits (including a solo home run) and two walks with 10 strikeouts. While it may not have been against big-league competition, it was another strong outing for the 30-year-old, who pitched 15 2/3 scoreless Cactus League innings this spring with 18 strikeouts. He had some fantasy streaming appeal last season and could start this season in the rotation for the Astros given his performance and injuries on the team. He will need to prove he can deliver consistently, but Blanco could be worth a look in favorable matchups if he can carry his strong spring into the regular season.

Houston Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco will start the team's Cactus League Opener on Feb. 24 versus the Washington Nationals, according to manager Joe Espada. Espada didn't reveal much about the rest of his plans for the spring opener but did mention Dylan Coleman will be one of the scheduled relievers to appear in the contest. Blanco made seven starts and 10 relief outings for the Astros in 2023 and worked to a 4.50 ERA across 52 innings of work. He also tossed a 3.68 across 13 starts and two relief outings at Triple-A Sugar Land. The 30-year-old was recently mentioned as a potential rotation candidate to begin the 2024 season with fellow right-handers Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia out until the second half of the campaign while future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander is behind in camp due to a shoulder issue.

If Houston Astros right-handers Justin Verlander (shoulder) and J.P. France (shoulder) aren't ready for the start of the 2024 regular season, it's possible that right-handers Ronel Blanco and Brandon Bielak could be starting rotation options to begin the year. It's worth noting that Bielak is out of minor-league options. Blanco, 30, has appeared in 24 games (seven starts) for Houston the last two years and has gone 2-1 with a 4.78 ERA and 1.53 WHIP with 32 walks and 59 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings. Bielak, 27, probably the more likely option of the two, had 15 outings (13 starts) last year in Houston and had a 3.83 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with 36 walks and a career-high 62 K's in 80 innings. He filled in admirably for the team's injury-ravaged rotation in 2023 until struggling later in the year and being demoted to the minors.