Houston Astros Emerging Star Named 'Hidden Gem' of Team in 2024

A Houston Astros starting pitcher has turned into an unexpected anchor for the franchise in 2024.

Sep 7, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco (56) reacts after striking out Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Ketel Marte (not shown) during the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park. / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

It has been a tale of two halves for the Houston Astros in the 2024 season.

They got off to a brutal start, well under the .500 mark and trailing by double-digit games in the American League West in June.

By the end of the month, they were over the .500 mark and right back in the divisional race.

They now have a healthy 4.5-game lead over the Seattle Mariners for the division lead. Players they have relied on for years found their groove, as the Astros are heading down the stretch clicking on all cylinders.

Credit should be given to the players who helped keep the team afloat early in the season when things weren’t going their way.

One of those was starting pitcher Ronel Blanco.

The only reason he was even in the rotation early on was because of the injury to Justin Verlander. Replacing a future Hall of Famer is not easy, but Blanco set the bar extremely high out of the gate.

He threw a no-hitter in his first appearance of the season and followed that up with six shutout innings in his second outing, allowing only one hit. That strong start, which he has carried throughout the campaign, is why he was selected as Houston’s hidden gem of 2024 by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report.

“He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 21 of his 26 starts, going 10-6 with a 2.99 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 149 strikeouts in 150.1 innings. His 1.8 WAR trails only Framber Valdez (3.4) and Hunter Brown (3.0) among all Astros pitchers, and they might not be where they are right now without his unexpected production this season,” he wrote.

That gives him a 1.4 WAR and counting over the projection he had coming into the season.

As shared by Reuter, Blanco headed into 2024 with a projected WAR of only 0.4, as a spot in the starting rotation wasn’t even guaranteed.

Coming into the year, he had only seven career starts in the MLB with 58.1 innings in 24 total appearances.

This level of production has come out of nowhere and the Astros could not be happier about it.

With the postseason right around the corner, the starting rotation is a real weapon for the team.

Blanco, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Verlander, Spencer Arrighetti and Yusei Kikuchi are a deep, talented bunch for opponents to deal with.