[6] In 2003, while pitching for the Kane County Cougars and the Midland RockHounds,[7] Blanton ranked second in all of Minor League Baseball with a combined 174 strikeouts.

The next season, he helped the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats win the Pacific Coast League Championship with an 11–8 record and a 4.19 ERA.

In 2005, Blanton joined the starting rotation that had lost pitchers Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson to trades.

[8] He made his first start on April 8 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, pitching five innings and allowing two runs.

After losing his first five decisions, he picked up his first win when he worked seven innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 4.

[10] In 2006, Blanton's ERA rose over a full point to 4.82 and gave up the fifth highest number of hits in the American League (241),[12] resulting in a .309 batting average against.

[16] Blanton made his 100th career appearance at the end of the season, in a 7–3 win against the Texas Rangers on September 15.

[16] The A's traded Blanton, who had a 5–12 record and a 4.96 ERA to the Philadelphia Phillies for second baseman Adrian Cárdenas, pitcher Josh Outman, and outfielder Matthew Spencer on July 17, 2008.

He was also credited with the win in the Phillies' Game 4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching six innings and allowing two runs on four hits.

[21] On August 3, 2012, Blanton was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later (minor league prospect Ryan O'Sullivan).

[26] On March 31, 2014, the Oakland Athletics signed Blanton to a minor league deal and sent him to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.

[28][29] After working out in the offseason with Gallatin, Tennessee, neighbor and fellow pitcher Zach Duke,[30][31] Blanton announced that he would attempt a comeback for the 2015 season.

[34] He had his contract selected to the major league roster on May 16, where he debuted against the Yankees, pitching four innings of relief with one earned run in a 5–1 loss.

[43] Both before and after his stint on the disabled list, Blanton struggled with a significant increase in his rate of home runs given up.

[45] Blanton and his wife, LeeAndra, have three children and live in St. Helena, California, where they own a 3-acre (1.2 ha) vineyard on Howell Mountain producing cabernet sauvignon.