AJ Blubaugh had an impressive cameo in the majors this year, and now he’s firmly in the Astros’ plans as an option for the 2026 rotation.
“Blubaugh certainly has a path where he can make some noise in the rotation,” Astros GM Dana Brown says of the 6-foot-2, 190-pound righthander.
The 25-year-old Blubaugh added an exclamation point to his 2025 season with a career-high seven strikeouts in a Sept. 16 start.
Blubaugh finished with a 1.69 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 32 innings for Houston. More impressively, he finished the year with a 21-inning scoreless streak as the Astros battled for a playoff spot.
Interestingly enough, Blubaugh had much better numbers in the majors than he did at Triple-A Sugar Land, where he ran up a 5.27 ERA in 99 innings.
“AJ showed a ton of growth this year,” Jacob Buffa said. “He came out of the gate throwing very well, with all offspeeds working. Over time he saw his changeup performance decline.
“And where I credit him a ton was his tenacity in working to get it back, knowing he needed another secondary to be effective.”
Brown notes that Blubaugh’s command was a little better in his second of two stints in the majors, making his fastball more effective. Blubaugh also mixes in a slider and changeup.
Blubaugh represented the Astros in the Futures Game in 2024. He has methodically climbed the ranks since Houston drafted him in the seventh round in 2022 out of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
He made his debut in the majors on April 30, giving up seven runs (two earned) with six strikeouts over four innings. The Astros sent Blubaugh back to Sugar Land after that start. He returned to the majors on Aug. 5.
“Then in the big leagues he was slotted into a short-stint role that really allowed him to let it eat and light up the radar gun, like we know he can,” Buffa said. “It’s a power arm and a very special kid.”