Ocampo reflects on Blanco’s path from DR to no-no

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ARLINGTON -- When the text messages started pouring in Monday night, Oz Ocampo decided to check out social media and find out for himself. Seeing that Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco was six outs away from pitching a no-hitter, Ocampo turned on MLB Network and watched the final two innings.

“I was on the edge of my seat just waiting to see what would happen,” said Ocampo, the Astros’ former director of international and Latin player development.

Blanco got the final six outs against the Blue Jays to polish off his unlikely no-hitter in just his eighth Major League start. Ocampo, who helped sign the pitcher out of the Dominican Republic, was ecstatic for Blanco, who signed for $5,000 as a 22-year-old in 2016. Ocampo felt similar emotions last year when Framber Valdez threw a no-hitter and in 2022 when Cristian Javier was the starting pitcher in two combined no-hitters, including one in the World Series.

Ocampo, now an assistant general manager with the Marlins, helped sign Valdez and Javier, both for $10,000, but Blanco’s unique road to the big leagues made his no-hitter an incredible source of pride for Ocampo and Roman Ocumarez, another scout responsible for the signing.

“Obviously, they’re all special in different ways and the way they happened,” Ocampo said. “Each one felt different. With Ronel, it was such a big mountain that he climbed to get to this point of just getting to the big leagues, and then after that, sticking in the big leagues and getting to the starting rotation. And then to do this in his first start [of 2024], it’s just unbelievable.”

Ocumarez, who also now works for the Marlins, said he heard about Blanco from an agent named Quico Peña, who also represented Julio Rodríguez. Blanco and Rodríguez were from the same hometown and worked out together. Ocumarez sent area scout Francis Mojica to see Blanco in person. Mojica urged Ocumarez to bring him to the Astros’ Dominican academy for a workout.

“I was aware we needed to be there at a certain time because he used to practice baseball in the morning and then in the afternoon, he worked in a car wash,” Ocumarez said. “We eventually called him ‘The Car Wash Guy.’”

When Ocumarez saw Blanco throw in the bullpen, his age became irrelevant. Blanco had played the outfield, third base and first base before he started pitching at age 18.

“There was no [doubt] about the stuff,” Ocumarez said. “He was in between 92 and 95 [mph], [threw] a bunch of strikes. He was able to repeat. He got some deceptions that caught my attention. I didn’t think about the age at that moment.”

Ocampo said Blanco checked all the boxes they were looking for in potential arms.

“First of all, he had a strong physical frame, some athleticism, a solid delivery and good arm action,” he said. “And in terms of pitches, had a really good fastball, up to 95 [mph]. He showed a decent breaking ball and changeup. He just had those attributes for potentially a power arm with multiple pitches. We saw a chance at a starter, so we just took the shot.”

Blanco made Houston’s Opening Day roster as a reliever in 2022, but general manager Dana Brown moved him to the rotation last spring. Blanco split time last year between the Astros and Triple-A, and he parlayed a terrific spring into a spot in the rotation to start the season. It didn’t hurt that the Astros have four starting pitchers on the injured list, but Blanco could be in the rotation to stay.

“We signed him, and he got to climb the ladder,” Ocumarez said. “He is a hard worker. All the coaches that went through the process with him, they were in love with him. I feel really proud of Ronel Blanco and all the things he’s done. Not only as a scout, but as a human being. The way I picture it is I think God put me on his path to make a little bit of a contribution to his career.”