State of team’s pitching depth could land Blanco in new role
JUPITER, Fla. — During his first Grapefruit League game as a general manager, Dana Brown segued back into scout mode. He sat high atop home plate and thought he saw a starting pitcher. His four-seam fastball sat in the mid- to high-90s, and a wipeout slider showed some wicked break. Three New York Mets looked lost against the arsenal.
Ronel Blanco required 15 pitches to retire the side. His boss arrived on the AT&T Sportsnet Southwest telecast two innings later.
“Kind of fired me up over there,” Brown said. “I was like ‘Hey, why can’t this guy start?’ ”
Blanco can. Perhaps due to Brown’s insistence, now he will. The Astros stretched him to two innings and 28 pitches during Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox and will extend him even further this spring, one in which Houston’s starting pitching depth is dwindling.
“We have one of the best bullpens in the league, and it would be a tough nut to crack for somebody,” pitching coach Josh Miller said. “It gives Ronel a different opportunity to provide some type of coverage for us if he’s not going to be in that traditional short-stint reliever role. We have talented pitchers on the 40man, but this could provide an additional option if he’s able to do it and be ready to go.”
Blanco’s transition will not be immediate. A scenario exists where it doesn’t stick, either. Miller said the team intends to build Blanco’s pitch count to around 45 or 50 and make a more long-term assessment afterward. Blanco is scheduled to pitch for the Dominican Republic in this month’s World Baseball Classic too, which could
complicate the plans.
Though he’s thrown more than 40 pitches once in the past three seasons, Blanco does have a starter’s background. He threw 88 innings and started 11 games during his first professional season in 2016. Blanco converted to a traditional relief role following the 2017 season and has blossomed into a borderline dominant reliever without an immediate path to the major leagues.
Houston returns every member of its World Series-winning bullpen but will have an open spot now that Hunter Brown will slot into the starting rotation. Manager Dusty Baker is bullish on carrying at least one lefthander, though the skipper did soften on that stance earlier this week, deferring to the team’s needs over the pure optics of having balance.
Lance McCullers Jr.’s muscle strain may make length more of a priority than lefthandedness. Without him, Houston has a fine five-man rotation and Brandon Bielak in Class AAA Sugar Land as a sixth starter with meaningful major league experience.
Nothing after Bielak breeds much confidence. Shawn Dubin and Forrest Whitley are on the 40-man roster, but neither has thrown a major league pitch. Houston added J.P. France to the roster this winter for this very purpose — to be a dependable depth starter — but he’s behind schedule in spring training with an unspecified injury.
“I feel good about our options,” Miller said. “We have really talented guys, guys that have done it before and guys that have flashed really big-end stuff that we haven’t seen in the big leagues yet. I feel really good about our options. If we were to have a need, we have guys that can fill a hole.”
Through an interpreter, Blanco said the organization informed him “I may have to start a game” and said the prospect is “very exciting.” In reality, Blanco may become nothing more than another bulk option. It’s difficult to envision Houston using him in a traditional starting role, especially with Bielak on the roster and able to slot in.
The reason for stretching Blanco out seems twofold: insurance in case another rotation injury arises and a way to work Blanco’s dominant stuff onto a pitching staff that doesn’t have a clear need for another one-inning reliever. If Blanco does make the opening day bullpen, he could serve as a long reliever or an opener tasked with getting through an order one time.
Right now, it may be all Blanco is equipped to handle. Though he has a four-pitch arsenal, Blanco relies almost exclusively on his four-seam fastball and slider as a traditional reliever. He can flash a curveball along with what Miller called a “good” changeup. Better command of both pitches is mandatory to make Blanco better against lefthanded hitters and allow him to navigate an order more than once.
“I would have to use all my pitches,” Blanco said through an interpreter. “When I come in in relief, I can focus on one or two pitches and just get a couple hitters out. Now I’m going to be seeing more hitters, I’ll use all my pitches then.”
Blanco spent the winter working on his mental state. He consulted Dr. Andy Nuñez, the team’s Dominican-based sports psychologist, on how best to “control my emotions and stay in the game.” Blanco struck out 27 and walked five across 202⁄3 innings in the Dominican Winter League but did surrender a walkoff single in the league’s championship game.
“The preparation after that was to leave that in the past, turn the page and just try to come with a fresh mindset and new preparation here,” Blanco said.
And now, perhaps, a new role.