AJ Blubaugh

AJ Blubaugh

25-Year-Old PitcherRP
Houston Astros
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 added enough rotation depth this offseason that Blubaugh is likely ticketed for Triple-A to start the year. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#409
ADP
Signed a one-year contract with the Astros in March of 2026.
Solid in bulk role
PHouston Astros
May 4, 2026
Blubaugh didn't factor into the decision Sunday against the Red Sox, allowing one run on two hits and two walks over 3.2 innings. He struck out five.
Analysis
Jarren Duran's homer in the fifth inning was the lone run given up by Blubaugh, who served as Houston's bulk reliever Sunday after Cody Bolton went just 2.1 innings. While Blubaugh's ERA still sits at an uninspiring 5.32, the right-hander has been sharp of late, allowing just two runs while striking out 12 in his last 11.1 innings.
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Pitching Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2026 MLB Game Log
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2025 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
28
Last 10 Games
27
Last 5 Games
27
How many pitches does AJ Blubaugh generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does AJ Blubaugh generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2024
 
 
-14%
BAA vs LHP
2026
 
 
-5%
BAA vs LHP
2025
 
 
-22%
BAA vs LHP
2024
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2024vs Left .169 105 27 13 15 6 0 4
Since 2024vs Right .196 116 28 11 20 2 0 6
2026vs Left .222 46 8 8 8 4 0 1
2026vs Right .233 51 12 5 10 1 0 3
2025vs Left .132 59 19 5 7 2 0 3
2025vs Right .169 65 16 6 10 1 0 3
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2024
 
 
-53%
ERA at Home
2026
 
 
-72%
ERA at Home
2025
 
 
-17%
ERA at Home
2024
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2024Home 1.93 0.94 23.1 2 2 0 10.8 2.7 1.5
Since 2024Away 4.11 1.21 30.2 3 1 0 7.9 5.0 1.8
2026Home 2.38 1.06 11.1 2 1 0 8.7 4.0 1.6
2026Away 8.44 1.78 10.2 0 1 0 7.6 6.8 1.7
2025Home 1.50 0.83 12.0 0 1 0 12.8 1.5 1.5
2025Away 1.80 0.90 20.0 3 0 0 8.1 4.1 1.8
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does AJ Blubaugh compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
1.54
 
K/9
8.2
 
BB/9
5.3
 
HR/9
1.6
 
Fastball
95.6 mph
 
ERA
5.32
 
WHIP
1.41
 
BABIP
.250
 
GB/FB
0.63
 
Left On Base
70.9%
 
Exit Velocity
82.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
6.8%
 
Spin Rate
2350 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
22.9%
 
Swinging Strike
13.2%
 
Prospect Rankings History
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Defensive Stats
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring AJ Blubaugh See More
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring AJ Blubaugh See More
More Fantasy News
Strong showing to begin 2026
PHouston Astros
April 2, 2026
Blubaugh has allowed one run on two hits, striking out six without a walk, across 5.1 innings in three appearances for the Astros this season. He earned his first career hold in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Red Sox.
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Competing for final rotation spot
PHouston Astros
February 23, 2026
Blubaugh is a candidate to fill one of the Astros' final two rotation spots, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
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Walks four in no-decision
PHouston Astros
September 27, 2025
Blubaugh allowed a hit and four walks while striking out two over four scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Angels on Saturday.
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Returning to starting role Saturday
PHouston Astros
September 27, 2025
Blubaugh is slated to start Saturday's game against the Angels in Anaheim, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
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Racks up sevens Ks in short start
PHouston Astros
September 16, 2025
Blubaugh struck out seven and scattered two hits and one walk over three scoreless innings in his start during Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Rangers. He didn't factor into the decision in the victory.
Analysis
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