2025 Fantasy Baseball: Ronel Blanco Profile, Preview, Predictions
In this story:
Ronel Blanco was a fantasy gift in 2024 that kept on giving. He finished with an elite ERA (2.80) and a winning WHIP (1.088) while being a waiver wire pick-up in most shallow fantasy leagues.
Ronel Blanco's 8th and 9th Ks. pic.twitter.com/D1WkY8YCha
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 22, 2024
SP – Ronel Blanco, HOU (ADP – 246.2)
Fantasy drafters shopping in Blanco’s aisle in 2024 were rewarded with an excellent value season. Over his previous three years in the minors, while splitting time between starting and relief, he went 16-14 with a 3.59 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 196 strikeouts, and 27 saves over 163.0 innings. His ceiling was compromised by a high walk rate (4.0). Houston gave him 17 games of experience in 2023, but there was no hint of him handling batters over a long season.
Last year, Blanco made the Astros starting rotation out of spring training. He pitched 15 shutout innings in his first two starts, leading to a great first nine games (5-0 with 1.99 ERA, 1.012 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts over 54.1 innings). His arm held up over his final 21 appearances (3.19 ERA, 1.124 WHIP, and 115 strikeouts over 113.0 innings), thanks to allowing two runs or fewer in 14 of those starts.
His arsenal played well against righties (.190 BAA) and lefties (.191 BAA) batters. Blanco threw more strikes (3.7 – 4.8 in 2023) while allowing the fewest hits per nine innings (6.1) in the American League.
He had about a league-average fastball (93.6). Blanco upped the usage (22.2% - 9.0 in 2023) and his confidence in his changeup (.183 BAA). His four-seamer (.230 BAA), slider (.180 BAA), and curveball (.070 BAA) graded as plus pitches.
Fantasy Outlook: At age 31, the fantasy market must decide if he is a fact or fiction story. His repertoire showed promise, but Blanco must repeat his questionable command to have any chance of even posting a 3.50 ERA. I sense WHIP risk and more disaster games due to home runs. In the end, his ERA in 2025 drives his price point this year. Any pitcher who allowed 50 fewer hits than innings pitched wasn’t lucky. Interesting coin flip.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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