Houston Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco of Santiago, Dominican Republic will have Tommy John Surgery next week according to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. Astros manager Joe Espada confirmed on Wednesday that Blanco will not be back for the remainder of the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season and is not expected to return for the spring training portion of the 2026 season.
When did Blanco pitch last?
Blanco last pitched for Houston on May 17 in a 5-1 Astros loss to the Texas Rangers. He informed the Astros that he was experiencing soreness in his elbow while the Astros were on the road in Tampa according to Brian McTaggart of mlb.com. Blanco then flew back to Houston a day later to have some tests done.
Blanco’s 2025 MLB Statistics
This season Blanco has a record of three wins and four losses with an earned run average of 4.10. During 48 1/3 innings pitched, Blanco has given up 37 hits, 22 earned runs, seven home runs, and 20 walks, to go along with 48 strikeouts, four quality starts, and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.18.
Blanco’s finest start of the season came on May 11 in a 6-0 Astros win over the Cincinnati Reds. Blanco threw eight shutout innings and was simply spectacular. He had 11 strikeouts, and only gave up two hits and one walk. Sadly for Astros fans, Blanco only pitched one more game for Houston before being done for the remainder of the 2025 MLB regular season.
Who are in the Astros starting rotation now?
With the loss of Blanco, the Astros starting five consists of Framber Valdez of Sabana Grande de Palenque, Dominican Republic, Hunter Brown of Detroit, Michigan, Lance McCullers Jr. of Tampa, Florida, and rookies Ryan Gusto of Santa Rosa, California, and Colton Gordon of St. Petersburg, Florida. Brown currently leads the Majors with seven wins.
