AJ Blubaugh

25-Year-Old PitcherRP

Houston Astros

2025 Stats

W-L

3-1

ERA

1.69

WHIP

0.88

2026 Projections

W-L

ERA

WHIP

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2026 Fantasy Outlook

Blubaugh, a seventh round pick in 2021, comes with little prospect pedigree, but his 1.69 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 19.4 K-BB% in 32 big-league innings in 2025 caught everyone's attention. Blubaugh was fine working as a de facto starter in his first three big-league appearances, logging a 4.15 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 15:3 K:BB in 13 innings, although he gave up six home runs over that stretch. He moved into a long relief role at the end of August and Blubaugh finished the year with eight straight scoreless outings over 19 frames, logging a 20:8 K:BB and 0.74 WHIP over that stretch. The long ball was more of a problem for Blubaugh as a starter, but he's got a starter's pitch mix without concerning lefty/righty splits. The 6-foot-2 righty throws his 94-95 mph four-seamer over 50 percent of the time while mixing in his low-80s sweeper and mid-80s changeup, which is his best pitch. The Astros are going to have a competition in camp for the final rotation spots, and Blubaugh has as strong of a case as any of the competitors based off his 2025 showing. Read Past Outlooks

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