2026 Stats
W-L
2-2
ERA
7.82
WHIP
1.74
K
10
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
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
Signed a one-year contract with the Astros in March of 2026.
Strong showing to begin 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.
Analysis
Blubaugh seems to be finding his niche -- and climbing the ladder -- in the Houston bullpen, as he already has a win and now a hold through three outings to begin the 2026 season. The 25-year-old right-hander has averaged 96.4 mph on his four-seam fastball, up multiple ticks from last season when he broke in as more of a swingman. Houston figures to keep him shortened up a bit so he can max out with his impressive stuff and provide valuable leverage innings while the team navigates the absence of closer Josh Hader (biceps).
Blubaugh seems to be finding his niche -- and climbing the ladder -- in the Houston bullpen, as he already has a win and now a hold through three outings to begin the 2026 season. The 25-year-old right-hander has averaged 96.4 mph on his four-seam fastball, up multiple ticks from last season when he broke in as more of a swingman. Houston figures to keep him shortened up a bit so he can max out with his impressive stuff and provide valuable leverage innings while the team navigates the absence of closer Josh Hader (biceps).
Pitching Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
31
Last 10 Games
31
Last 5 Games
33
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+
What part of the game does AJ Blubaugh generally pitch?
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
-33%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-42%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .151 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 3 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .227 | 22 | 8 | 20 | 6 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .200 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .345 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 3 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .132 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 3 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .169 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 3 | |||
| 2024vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2024vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-64%
ERA at Home
2026
-90%
ERA at Home
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 1.74 | 0.87 | 20.2 | 11.3 | 2.2 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 4.88 | 1.33 | 24.0 | 7.1 | 5.3 | ||||
| 2026Home | 2.08 | 0.92 | 8.2 | 9.3 | 3.1 | ||||
| 2026Away | 20.25 | 3.50 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 11.3 | ||||
| 2025Home | 1.50 | 0.83 | 12.0 | 12.8 | 1.5 | ||||
| 2025Away | 1.80 | 0.90 | 20.0 | 8.1 | 4.1 | ||||
| 2024Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2024Away | 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.
* 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
1.33K/9
6.8BB/9
5.1HR/9
2.5Fastball
95.8 mphERA
9.28WHIP
1.69BABIP
.290GB/FB
0.67Left On Base
50.7%Exit Velocity
82.4 mphBarrels/BBE
5.2%Spin Rate
2355 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
24.1%Swinging Strike
14.6%Prospect Rankings History
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Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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More Fantasy News
Competing for final rotation spot
Blubaugh is a candidate to fill one of the Astros' final two rotation spots, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
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Walks four in no-decision
Blubaugh allowed a hit and four walks while striking out two over four scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Angels on Saturday.
Analysis
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Returning to starting role Saturday
Blubaugh is slated to start Saturday's game against the Angels in Anaheim, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Analysis
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Racks up sevens Ks in short start
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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Slated to start Tuesday
Blubaugh will start Tuesday's game against the Rangers in Houston, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.
Analysis
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