Houston Astros prospect A.J. Blubaugh, an Ohio native who played college baseball at UW-Milwaukee, made his Major League debut Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers, becoming the second player from UWM to reach the big leagues and first pitcher.
He joins outfielder Daulton Varsho as the only former Panthers to reach the big leagues.
Blubaugh scuffled after a clean first inning, allowing five hits and a walk in the next three innings, though only two of the seven runs that scored against him were earned. He closed with a strong fourth and finished with six strikeouts.
Presumably, there will be many more chances for the 24-year-old right-hander, ranked 10th among the organization’s prospects by MLB Pipeline.
Hailing from Belleville, Ohio, Blubaugh selected in the seventh round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft by Houston
He has a career 4.02 ERA in 65 minor-league appearances (44 starts) with a 1.32 WHIP.
He played three years at UWM, earning Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year in both seasons after the pandemic and earning first-team All-Conference nods each time. As a sophomore, he had just a 1.06 WHIP and finished with a 3.25 ERA in 16 appearances.
Daulton Varsho makes an unbelievable catch for Toronto
Speaking of Varsho, he produced an early candidate for catch of the year in the Major League, albeit somewhat unwittingly. Back healthy for his first game of the season, Varsho stumbled trying to flag down a fly ball from Jaren Duren of Boston on Tuesday, then made a casual circus catch behind his back as he rose to his feet.
Even that description doesn’t really do the snag justice.
“When I fell, I was like, ‘Oh boy, it’s going to be somewhat near me,'” Varsho said afterward. “I saw it kind of really quick and kind of stuck my glove out.”
Varsho, a Marshfield native, won his first career Gold Glove as a center fielder last year.