Ronel Blanco, Pitch Control, And Caution About Spring Training Stats

Here’s a Spring Training fun fact as we start to look forward to camp next month: Ronel Blanco has allowed only one earned run — a solo home run in 2023 — in 22 ¹⁄₃ innings, or 235 pitches, dating back to camp in 2020. Blanco looked rather impressive in camp last year, striking out 17 and only walking three across 14 frames. A 0.64 ERA, no matter the context, does jump out and capture attention. His performance was easy to recall, especially as ineffectiveness and injuries sapped the Astros’ pitching depth by early June.