CLEVELAND — First pitch is still more than three hours away, but the visitor’s clubhouse at Progressive Field already is bustling.
The Houston Astros are in town for a three-game series against the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians. The Astros have dropped four in a row and are in last place in the AL West, but you wouldn’t know it by the energy in the room.
A handful of players are gathered around a makeshift card table in the center of the locker room. Others linger in front of tidy locker stalls. Team officials dart in and out of the adjoining offices and training rooms. The pregame schedule flashes on an electronic message board nearby.
Reliver A.J. Blubaugh and several of his teammates are gathered in a small cafeteria, chatting as they polish off their pregame meals. Blubaugh, a 2019 Clear Fork graduate, excuses himself and retreats to his locker to bundle up against the awaiting cold.
The sun is shining and temperatures are hovering in the mid-40s now, but it will be 39 degrees by the time Cleveland starter Slade Cecconi throws his first pitch at 6:11 p.m., and even colder as the sun begins to duck behind the cityscape and shadows creep across the impossibly green outfield grass. A stiff breeze has the oversized America flag behind the centerfield fence standing at attention.
By his own admission, the 25-year-old Blubaugh is not a fan of spring in Ohio. He wears a long-sleeved navy blue moisture wicking tee-shirt emblazoned with the familiar orange Astros logo. He’ll add a few layers before heading down the tunnel and onto the sun-soaked field to stretch and throw.
“I grew up here and went to Milwaukee (for college) after that and I still hate the cold,” Blubaugh joked. “Once you’re out there on the mound and the adrenaline is pumping, I think it’s just going to be baseball.”
‘It Takes a Valley’
For as long as he can remember, Blubaugh wanted to be a big leaguer.
He was never shy about sharing his dream even though it was often met with skepticism.
“People always asked me if I really thought I could play pro baseball and I always told them, ‘Yes, I can do it,’ ” Blubaugh said previously. “Of course, that raised a few eyebrows when I was barely 5 feet tall and didn’t even weigh 100 pounds as a freshman.”
In fact, Blubaugh’s journey to the big leagues began before he was an undersized freshman in the fall of 2015.
His formative years were spent with the Mansfield Mudhens. The Mudhens were coached by current Madison varsity coach Jayson Stone and athletic director and former varsity coach Doug Rickert.
The roster included some of that era’s brightest up-and-coming stars, including Lexington’s Ben Vore and Shelby’s Brennan Armstrong. Vore played college baseball at Cincinnati and Wright State, while Armstrong was a quarterback at Virginia and North Carolina State.
“That is why I fell in love with baseball, that team right there,” Blubaugh said. “I learned how to win. Coach Stone and Coach Rickert strengthened my mind.”
When it came to the mental side of the game, Blubaugh took a backseat to no one.
“We won nine games in three days with nine guys at the Cincinnati Flames Tournament, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country, and who pitched our championship game? A.J.,” Rickert said. “That little son-of-a-gun went out there with his 57-mile-an-hour fastball and that little knuckleball of his and he won it for us.”
The friendships forged during those summers have stood the test of time.
“In spring training, I was walking out on the field and they were playing (“Centerfield” by John Fogerty) and I just got flashbacks to summer ball growing up when I was 9, 10 years old,” Blubaugh said. “I texted my old Mansfield Mudhens team and I was like, ‘Thinking about you guys.’
“I wouldn’t be here without all those guys. There’s no way I can take all the credit. It takes a Valley.”
Championship Dreams
Clear Fork won its only baseball championship in the spring of 2010.
The Colts beat Wheelersburg 14-3 in the Division III final at Huntington Park in Columbus.
A young Blubaugh sat in the stands that Sunday afternoon, transfixed by Clear Fork’s star-studded lineup. That ultra-talented team included Travis Hissong, Joe Staab, Brendan Liberti, Jake Dickerson and Jordan McCune, among others.
“Watching those guys it was like, ‘These guys are kings. They’re bigger than big,’ ” Blubaugh said. “Watching them was a dream.
“To be in the conversation with those guys who I looked up to is more than I can ask for.”
Clear Fork returned to the Division III state semifinals in 2016 and 2017.
A sophomore, Blubaugh was the starting left fielder in a 2-1 loss to Warren Champion in the 2017 semifinals. He accounted for one of the Colts’ four hits that day.
Joe Staab, one of the stars of the 2010 team, took over for his father, Rusty, as Clear Fork’s head coach the following spring. Then a junior, Blubaugh was the younger Staab’s Swiss Army knife.
“He played dang near every position on the baseball field during his high school career,” Staab said. “A.J. has always been the underdog. He’s had to work for everything he’s ever had.”
Rising Star
Blubaugh was used sparingly as a pitcher during his junior year at Clear Fork. As a senior, he was 4-2 with 30 strikeouts in 33.2 innings of work.
He had only one Division I college offer — from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
He made the most of it.
Blubaugh was selected the Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2021 and 2022 at Milwaukee. He was drafted by the Astros in the seventh round of the 2022 draft.
Blubaugh rose quickly through Houston’s farm system and made his big league debut on April 30, 2025. He went back to Triple-A Sugar Land after the spot start before being recalled in August.
Blubaugh appeared in 11 games last year, compiling a 3-1 record with a 1.69 earned run average. He struck out 35 in 32 innings.
“I really like his demeanor,” Astros manager Joe Espada said last year. “I really like the make-up of this kid. … He’s got that temperament that we are looking for.”
Despite his success in 2025, Blubaugh wasn’t guaranteed a spot on the opening day roster this season.
He finally got the news he was hoping for just before the Astros broke camp.
“I was at (Houston’s) Daikin Park and Joe called me into his office. … He told me I had made the team,” Blubaugh said. “It was a huge weight off my shoulders, but also I wanted to show what I can do.”
In 10 appearances this season, Blubaugh is 2-2 with a 6.60 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 15 innings of work. He pitched a scoreless seventh in Monday’s 9-2 win over the Guardians.
“It almost felt like my debut all over again,” Blubaugh said afterward.
Living The Dream
A Cleveland fan in his youth, Blubaugh arrived at Progressive Field early Monday. He walked up the tunnel and onto the field in his bare feet.
The memories came flooding back, like the time one of the stadium workers handed him a foul ball off the bat of former Cleveland third baseman Casey Blake.
“I thought it was gold,” Blubaugh said. “I remember thinking, ‘I’m hanging onto this forever.’”
Blubaugh then rattled off the names of some of his favorite players growing up. That list included Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Asdrubal Cabrera, Nick Swisher and Michael Brantley.
“All those guys kind of got me to fall in love with the game,” Blubaugh said. “It’s so cool just being out there, (re-living) the memories of the dream from when I was a kid.”
Power From the Valley
There were 12,565 tickets sold for Monday’s game, but maybe half that many people showed up for the frigid opener. The stadium was nearly empty, save for a section located beside the Astros bullpen.
Several hundred fans wearing Kelly green, black and white Clear Fork gear roared when Blubaugh emerged from the bullpen in the seventh.
Two busloads of Clear Fork students made the trip to Cleveland to see their favorite substitute teacher. Blubaugh served as a sub at Clear Fork during the 2024-25 school year.
“I’m sure I substitute taught for a bunch of those kids at some point and my mom (longtime Clear Fork teacher Erin) taught every other one of them,” Blubaugh said.
“It’s super cool because I remember being in those shoes, coming up through the Valley and having the dream that I’m living right now,” he said. “If I can affect even a couple of those kids, then I feel like I’ve done my job.”
Gratitude
Job security is hard to come by in the big leagues. A few bad outings and a ballplayer can find himself back in the minors.
Getting recalled isn’t guaranteed.
Blubaugh understands the reality of pro baseball. He’s grateful for the opportunity to play a game for a living.
“In my prayers, I thank God every single day for what He has blessed me with, every opportunity He has given me,” Blubaugh said. “I thank Him for all the people He has put in my life to get me to this point.”