How will Astros maneuver rotation in second half?

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- While the Astros hope to get Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia back in the rotation at some point in the final two months of the season and are exploring trades to add a starter, the club is banking on young arms Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss to carry the workload, along with veteran Framber Valdez.

The pitcher the Astros will have to monitor the closest is Blanco, who was left off the American League All-Star team despite a terrific first half in which he went 9-4 with a 2.56 ERA in 18 starts and threw the first no-hitter of the season on April 1. The right-hander -- who was converted to a starter from a reliever last spring at the urging of general manager Dana Brown -- threw 109 innings prior to the All-Star break, which is already a career high.

“He’s been huge to this team -- how reliable he’s been, the amount of innings, the big outs, how consistent he’s been, how our team feels when he’s on the mound,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He’s starting to be one of those guys that you’re counting the days for him to be on the mound. You’re getting a good chance to win the game. He’s been one of our stars in this first half and we would not be in this position if it wasn’t for the job he’s done.”

The Astros chose to slot Blanco into the third spot in the rotation coming out of the break, meaning he’ll pitch Sunday’s series finale in Seattle. That will give him a full week of rest following his most recent start, which came Sunday against Texas.

For the second start in a row, Blanco’s velocity was down against the Rangers, but he still managed to get hitters out. In those two starts, he gave up four earned runs and struck out 12 batters with three walks in 13 innings. Espada noted that Blanco still touched 93-94 mph on occasion, which means there’s no cause for alarm.

“I think his stuff was still good,” Espada said. “But it’s something that when the velo drops in an outing, we discuss it with him, we check up on him. He’s been bouncing back really well and recovering well, so I expect him to be really good here in Seattle.”

Espada said what makes Blanco so effective is that his changeup comes out of his hand the same slot as his fastball and slider, and that was still the case even with his velo a tick lower.

“Hitters are committed to that one pitch, and then all of a sudden he’s either going to go below the zone with a changeup or going away from the barrel with a slider,” Espada said. “He’s got ways to be deceptive with the stuff he has. He’s been able to maintain the command and control of all pitches the entire season.”

Brown surpassed 100 innings pitched by throwing six scoreless in Friday’s 3-0 win over the Mariners, and could make a run at his career high of 155 2/3 innings set last year. Arrighetti is at 88 1/3 combined innings between the Astros and Triple-A, putting him on pace to eclipse his career high of 124 2/3 innings set last year in the Minor Leagues.

“It’s something we need to watch very carefully,” Espada said. “We’ve asked a lot of these guys the last couple of weeks to get back in this race, and as we move forward and we finish strong, we have to monitor the workload of everyone.”

By starting Valdez on Saturday in Seattle, the Astros are giving the lefty nine days off between starts to rest his arm. He last pitched July 10 against the Marlins, throwing 95 pitches in seven innings.

“We’re just trying to be smart and trying to match them up the best we can for the present and also the future,” Espada said.