April 30: The Astros have made Blubaughs promotion official. His contract has been selected to the 40-man roster, which is now at capacity. Righty has been placed on the paternity list to clear a spot on the active roster. April 29: The Astros are tabbing to start tomorrow against the Tigers, the team announced to reporters (including ). The righty will go opposite another rookie, , in his major league debut. Houston already has an opening on the 40-man roster; theyll only need to make an active roster move involving a pitcher. Blubaugh, 24, is one of the top pitching prospects in a Houston system that is light on arms. A seventh-round pick from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 2022 draft, he has turned in a 4.02 ERA over 268 1/3 minor league innings. Drafted as a reliever, Blubaugh began a rotation move in 2023. He worked as a full-time starter a year ago, pitching to a 3.71 ERA in 28 appearances between the top two minor league levels. Blubaugh recorded a solid 24.5% strikeout percentage against a 9.4% walk rate. The 62 righty pitched in the Futures Tristan Lennox Jersey Game a season ago. He ranked among the top 10 prospects in the Houston system at both and (via Keith Law) over the offseason. Hes generally viewed as a likely back-end starter who has decent command of a fringe-average pitch mix. Blubaughs fastball velocity has ticked up early this year. Hes averaging 93.8 MPH on the pitch after sitting at 92.5 during his Triple-A work last season. Hes mixing five pitches (four-seam, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup) with regularity. Blubaugh has found early succe s in a tough pitching environment in the Pacific Coast League. He carries a 3.86 ERA over 21 innings spanning five appearances. He has punched out 30% of opponents while walking batters at an elevated 10.8% rate. Blubaugh joins as rotation depth options who occupy a 40-man roster spot. Its unclear if his first appearance will simply be a spot start. would have been lined up on Wednesday. Manager Joe Espada said on Tuesday afternoon that the rightys start would be skipped after he was pitching with diminished velocity during his start last Friday (link via ). Espada downplayed the notion that Wesneski was injured, though its worth nothing the Astros provide le s in the way of health specifics than any other team. In any case, Blubaugh will get the ball at least once in his initial call to the big leagues. Zdeno Chara Jersey