Astros breakout hurler facing surprise bullpen demotion amid late-season slide

The Houston Astros' rotation has been on life support for much of the 2024 season, but now, it's firing on all cylinders.

Early in the season, Houston's starting staff was ravaged by injuries, while some of the younger starters struggled to establish a foothold.

Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers, and Luis García all are on the injured list, and Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez both had IL stints as well. Meanwhile, Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti had rocky starts to the year, but have been excellent in the second half.

Since Verlander's recent return, the Astros have been using a six-man rotation, as a way to ease the 41-year-old veteran back in while managing others' innings. But they are imminently switching back to a five-man rotation, and it appears the pitcher who carried them for much of the season will face a demotion.

Ronel Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his first start this season and has been the Astros' most consistent starting pitcher all season, is likely to be the hurler moved to the bullpen.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said on an appearance on the team's pregame radio show that Blanco would be the most likely candidate to head to the bullpen, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

Blanco, 31, only had 24 appearances and seven starts at the big-league level entering the season. In his first season as a full-time member of a starting rotation, he has been fantastic, posting a 10-6 record, 3.03 ERA, and 144 strikeouts in 148 1/3 innings pitched.

However, Blanco has slowed down of late, allowing a 4.98 ERA in his last seven starts, and he has rocketed past his innings total from 2023 when he threw 125 1/3 frames across the majors and minors. The move appears to be as much about maintenance as it is about performance.

Though the Astros have not yet announced their starting pitchers for this weekend's series against the Arizona Diamondbacks it appears he will exit the starting rotation on a high note. Blanco threw five scoreless innings and earned the win on Sunday in the series finale against the Kansas City Royals.

More MLB: Insider believes Mets could snag All-Star from division rival in free agency