Does foreign substance ejection add asterisk to Ronel Blanco's no hitter?

On April 1, Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco became one of the most unlikely pitchers to throw a no-hitter over the last few seasons. He did it in truly dominating fashion, where he dominated every hitter, walking just George Springer (twice) across nine no-hit innings.

But, just over a month later, Blanco was ejected from a game for a foreign substance. The pitcher silently admitted defeat when he decided to not appeal the suspension, accepting a 10-game suspension for the offense.

Should the foreign substance ejection add asterisk to Blanco's no-hitter?

While there is no way to go back to April 1st and figure out if Blanco was cheating during the no-hitter or not, we can still dive deeper into the numbers to take our best guess.

The main thing to look at would be his spin rate on both days and on the season. If they were similar, he was likely using the same foreign substance during the no-hitter that he used in the game in which he was ejected.

While some pitchers claim that they have only used these types of substances as a way to improve their grip, therefore improving the safety of the game, this likely isn't the case with Blanco. The umpire who checked him noted that it was the "stickiest stuff I've felt on a glove since we've been doing this for a few years now."

With that in mind, let's look a bit deeper at the numbers. The main two pitches to look at here would be his slider and fastball. He doesn't throw his curveball enough for it to have a huge impact and his changeup is designed to have low spin rate.

On the season, Blanco has average spin rates of 2086 RPM (Slider) and 2197 RPM (Fastball). During the no-hitter, his slider averaged about 2100 RPM and his fastball averaged about 2200 RPM, both similar to his season averages. If the spin rates from the game he was ejected are similar, it's quite likely that he was using the same substance during his no-hitter that he was in that game.

Unfortunately for baseball fans, the spin rates are almost identical.

During the game in which he was ejected, his slider averaged just over 2100 RPM and his fastball averaged just over 2200 RPM, both almost identical to his no-hitter numbers. Yikes.

While these numbers don't outright prove that the righty was cheating for the no-hitter, they are pretty damning.

It will be quite interesting to look into his spin rate numbers when he returns from the suspension. If the substance was playing a true factor in his movement, not just helping with grip, his numbers would plummet.