Houston Astros Right-Handed Pitching Prospect Deemed 'Potential Impact Callup'

The Houston Astros will have tough decisions to make with the rosters expanding in September.

Feb 25, 2024; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; Houston Astros pitcher AJ Blubaugh (69) pitches against the New York Mets in the second inning at Clover Park. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

After trading for Yusei Kikuchi, the Houston Astros have little left in their farm system. It was a wise decision from the front office to go and land a pitcher who could help them win a World Series this season, but it's something the front office will have to address in the near future. 

They have a core that's arguably the best in baseball, so the Astros could theoretically continue paying all of those guys and compete at a high level for the foreseeable future. At some point, however, this era is going to come to an end.

Having prospects who can play at a high level will either help them land more talent in the future, or they can have them play one day.

Either way, Houston has to find a way to improve their farm system at some point throughout the next year or two. 

With September call ups coming, allowing the Astros to bring up two players, they'll have some tough decisions to make. There aren't many guys in the farm system who necessarily deserve a chance and would even play a ton, but they'll expand their roster by two players in about a week. 

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com believes A.J. Blubaugh could be the guy who gets the call.

"The Astros traded Jake Bloss and Will Wagner to the Blue Jays in July and recently promoted Zach Dezenzo and Shay Whitcomb, leaving Blubaugh as their best impact callup candidate.

"Drafted in 2022's seventh round out of Milwaukee, he has converted from reliever to starter in pro ball and impressed with a four-pitch mix highlighted by a 92-95 mph fastball with ride and run and an 82-85 mph slider. He has logged a 4.20 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 94 1/3 Triple-A innings."

Blubaugh is an interesting prospect. He's had good numbers during his minor league career and has an above-average fastball that should play at the big league level.

He's played in Double and Triple-A during 2024, appearing in 23 games. He's posted a 4.13 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 100 1/3 innings pitched in Triple-A this season.

Houston could use some help on the mound, given some of the injuries they've dealt with throughout the year. Not only do they need to keep some of their top arms healthy heading into the postseason, but they could use someone to eat up innings.

Blubaugh seems to be an arm who could do just that and be above average along the way.