Houston Astros Prospect Has Short, Sharp MLB Futures Outing

A.J. Blubaugh helped the American League Futures team get out of a jam in his short appearance in the prospects game.

Feb 25, 2024; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; Houston Astros catcher CJ Stubbs (80) and pitcher AJ Blubaugh (69) meet as they walk back to the dugout during the game against the New York Mets at Clover Park. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — Houston Astros pitching prospect A.J. Blubaugh probably had the best story of how he found out he was going to the MLB Futures Game.

While many of the game’s top prospects were told by their coaches or through a clever ruse meant to capture the announcement on social media, Blubaugh found out from his mom.

No, the Astros front office didn’t call her to tell her to tell him, either.

“I woke up one morning and I got a text on my phone from mom that said, ‘Congrats,’ so she must have seen something on social media,” Blubaugh said. “I checked and sure enough.”

Blubaugh was the only Astros’ prospect selected to the AL Futures Roster. In an odd twist, he and his teammates were in the home clubhouse at Globe Life Field, which happens to be the home clubhouse for the Astros’ rivals, the Texas Rangers.

He called the home clubhouse at Minute Maid Park “pretty similar.”

But he was clearly trying to take it all in.

“This is all just above my league right now,” he said. “This is just so overwhelming. It’s so cool.”

Blubaugh got his chance to pitch in the fourth inning and AL Futures manager and Rangers legend Adrián Beltré handed him a jam. The bases were loaded, there was one out and he had to face Drake Baldwin, a top Atlanta Braves prospect.

He threw just three pitches. He got Baldwin to fly out, which resulted in a sacrifice fly RBI to make it 4-0 NL. While he threw a wild pitch to advance the runners, he got Phillies prospect Justin Crawford to line out to end the inning.

Back in Arlington...

AJ Blubaugh gets two outs on three pitches and strands a pair of runners in the All-Star #FuturesGame ! 🔥#SetTheCourse pic.twitter.com/5W7LMZuVtP

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) July 13, 2024

He wasn’t really shooting for something like this when the season started, but he’ll take the experience, one he hopes will pave his way to Houston.

“I came here looking for a good experience,” Blubaugh said. “I mean it’s a great opportunity to be around other players and get a little taste of what it would be like under the lights.”

Blubaugh is the Astros’ No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. With the recent graduation of pitcher Spencer Arrighetti from the prospect rankings, he is now Houston’s top pitching prospect.

The Futures Game gave him a break from his stint with the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys. He started the season with Double-A Corpus Christi and played his way into a promotion.

Combined he is 6-2 with a 3.46 ERA in 16 games (14 starts), with 72 strikeouts and 31 walks in 75.1 innings. For his minor league career he is 14-6 with a 4.04 ERA.

The Astros selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Milwaukee.