Ronel Blanco is eager to build on strong 2024

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco is ready to build on his breakout season. He hopes the work he put in this off-season in the Dominican Republic pays off.

Blanco, 31, made his MLB debut in 2022, but everything finally clicked last season. He had a career-best 2.84 ERA while throwing a career-high 167 ⅓ innings.

“This off-season I put in a lot of work,” he says. “Hopefully that gets reflected into this season.”

Blanco’s velocity on his fastball is around 92-95 mph. His slider is a key offering for him, as he throws it 30 percent of the time. The changeup is his third-best pitch. Blanco uses the curveball the least at only 9 percent of the time.

No-hitter to remember

He had 166 strikeouts and a career-best bWAR of 4.4 last season. Blanco started the 2024 season on fire by pitching a no-hitter on April 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays with seven strikeouts. That put Blanco on the map. He became the 10th native of the Dominican Republic to throw a no-hitter.

Blanco made his final start of the Grapefruit League on Wednesday night against the New York Mets at the Astros’ spring training home, CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Blanco is likely to make another exhibition start.

He struck out Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto on five pitches and got Lindor to swing through a breaking ball in the first. In the third, he struck out one batter, gave up a double, walked a guy, and threw a wild pitch.

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Additionally, Jose Altuve dropped a Soto pop-up in left field that allowed a second run to score. Blanco didn’t finish the inning, but he came back out for the fourth. The plan was for him to throw four innings, and he reached 3 ⅔ innings with three runs allowed, three strikeouts and three walks.

There was also a scare when Lindor’s line drive hit Blanco’s wrist, but Blanco said that wasn’t the reason he was pulled from the game. 

“It only grazed my wrist,” he said. “And it was only supposed to be four innings no matter how many pitches I threw.”

This was a good tune-up for Blanco with most of the Mets’ starters playing.

Ronel Blanco is ‘more comfortable’

“I felt super good, more confident and comfortable,” he said.

Like many veterans, Blanco is adamant that he doesn’t focus on the results during spring training. He prefers to focus on what he is working on. Blanco hopes to see those adjustments working in the regular season.

Focusing on his mechanics and attacking hitters more frequently has been his focal point this spring. Blanco confidently said he’s ready for the season. He reflected on last season and how he can use that as a building block for 2025.

“It’s my hard work,” he said. “I feel like the focus that I’ve projected has worked into that. 

Blanco is proud to represent his native Dominican Republic and Latinos in baseball.

“I feel proud of every Hispanic player that is working hard to be somebody this day,” Blanco told Our Esquina. “Just keep working hard and keep focusing because they’re not only representing themselves but all Latinos, including kids.”