With all due respect to Lance McCullers Jr., who has a deserved place in franchise lore, I am not sure how viable an option he is moving forward for the 2025 Astros. As long as his sinker is a liability, I don’t know how the right-hander is anything other than a mop-up pitcher for the remainder of the season. For a team with two teams within four games of the division lead, with only 18 games left in the season, Joe Espada and Dana Brown have to chase upside. I hope that includes seeing more of AJ
Blubaugh in the coming weeks.
The 25-year-old right-hander didn’t have the best numbers in Sugar Land (5.27 ERA,5.09 FIP in 99 innings), partially a byproduct of the PCL environment, but he has the type of stuff that can help a pitching-thin roster. While the sample is relatively small, Stuff+ paints a positive picture of Blubaugh’s pitches.
With a pitching staff short on upside arms at the moment, with multiple relievers on the IL, the Astros can’t exactly thumb their noses at someone with upside. And while Blubaugh only has 17 2/3 innings of Major League experience, when watching him pitch, I feel like his stuff is a welcome addition. His recent appearances since the end of August should at least invite speculation about whether he could contribute more. As long as he can keep the walks down, there could be something there to help bolster this pitching staff further in September and, hopefully, October.
Considering how the bullpen has been hit hard with injuries, and McCullers’ pitching ineffectively, Blubaugh has the opportunity to seize a more visible role in the coming weeks. That is my hope in any case. He has the upside to provide some depth for a pitching staff that desperately needs it, with wins at a premium at the moment.
