Astros might be using emerging bullpen weapon wrong but there's still time for a change

The Houston Astros have an aging roster and are in desperate need of young talent on the rise. They've given a handful of youngsters a try, but the likes of Cam Smith and Brice Matthews have either wallowed in inconsistency or bitterly disappointed. However, on the pitching side of things, rookie AJ Blubaugh has become a valuable weapon.

Blubaugh has become a true and unique weapon out of the bullpen. The 26-year-old leads MLB relievers with 80 1/3 innings pitched, often tossing multiple frames per outing with a total of only 50 appearances. With that, he's posted superb numbers like a 3.25 ERA, 9.07 K/9, and a .206 batting average allowed.

His performance has been a continuation of his impressive cameo from last year, which saw him make 11 appearances (three starts), throw 32 innings, and post a 1.69 ERA. He excelled both in the bullpen and as a starter, with a 1.64 ERA in his brief stint in the rotation.

That brings about a question as to whether or not the Astros are actually utilizing the right-hander in the most impactful way possible. After all, the starting rotation is in shambles, and Blubaugh has primarily worked as a starting pitcher for the majority of his minor league career.

It's not too late for the Astros to convert AJ Blubaugh to a starter for the stretch run

If we're being honest, a big reason (though not the sole reason) that Dana Brown was relieved of his duties was his utter failure to build a quality starting rotation. Houston rolled the dice on several reclamation projects and upside plays, almost all of which crashed and burned.

The big-money play, Tatsuya Imai, has been so bad that he's been moved to the bullpen. The lone hope of stability, last year's third-place Cy Young finisher Hunter Brown, has struggled to regain that same level of excellence amid some serious fastball command issues.

All said and done, the Astros' rotation has a 28th-ranked ERA, coming in at 5.15. Meanwhile, as important as Blubaugh has been to the bullpen, Houston has Josh Hader, Steven Okert, and even a resurgent Bryan Abreu out there to anchor things, which, when compared to the rotation's bare cupboard, is an embarrassment of riches.

It's not exactly easy to transition a reliever into the starting rotation on the fly, but if anyone is well-positioned for the move, it's Blubaugh by virtue of his lengthy, multi-inning appearances. The Astros should strongly consider the change, and while it will take a couple of outings to get him stretched out, he could be ready sooner than most.

It's fair to wonder if the club would have had a stronger playoff position had they considered Blubaugh as a rotation option, which, strangely, it seems as if he was never truly in the mix, while lesser hurlers like Ryan Weiss, Kai-Wei Teng, Lance McCullers Jr., and others all got opportunities.

There's still time for the Astros to right this wrong, and if they do, it could help them pull away from the Texas Rangers and others in the playoff chase. If they are going to try and convert Blubaugh, though, they're going to need to do it quickly to have him fully stretched out in time for October.

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