The Houston Astros are promoting one of their top prospects to the big leagues less than a year after he was drafted. 2023 third-round pick Jake Bloss is set to make his MLB debut on Friday, sources tell The Athletic. The news comes two days after Houston put Justin Verlander on the injured list.
Bloss has dominated the minor leagues and carved his way through four levels. He never pitched in Triple-A but barely broke a sweat in Double-A. In 12 starts across two levels in 2024, Bloss is 4-2 with a 1.74 ERA and 60 strikeouts to 21 walks.
Bloss only allowed one run in his past three starts and tossed 6.1 hitless innings in his last outing on June 15. That's quite the way to leave your mark in the minors before an MLB debut. Bloss will make that debut against the Baltimore Orioles and one of the best lineups in the league.
The Astros have had their eye on Bloss since they drafted him last July. Maybe they didn’t anticipate he'd be ready for the big league this soon, but they certainly aren’t upset about it
“I’ve got my eyes on him,” Astros general manager Dana Brown told the team’s pregame radio show Sunday. “I’m not afraid to move guys fast. He’s proving to us he can throw strikes, he’s got power stuff and he can log innings. If he continues to progress, you never know. Our rotation has been beaten up a bit. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Bloss.”
Pitchers typically do move through the minors quicker than hitters. There's reason to believe that Jake Bloss can pan out and be a valuable part of Houston's turnaround this season.
Astros trying to stay in it with pitching injuries
If there's one team that's been bitten by the injury bug this season it's the Astros. Particularly to their pitching staff, the Astros have been decimated by injuries with nine pitchers currently on the injured list.
The Astros have already used 25 pitchers this season, more than they did all of last season and the most since 2021. Bloss will be the ninth different pitcher to start a game for Houston.
The Astros lost Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy for the season, while Framber Valdez and Verlander have both spent time on the injured list. Luis Garcia could be back from 2023 Tommy John surgery soon, giving Houston another option in the rotation.
For now the Astros have to live with what they've got. The team is optimistic about Bloss as manager Joe Espada broke down on Thursday.
“Tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day,” Espada said, per MLB.com. “His stuff is really, really good. A strike-thrower, upper 90s, can spin the ball. All the things we hear about his makeup, he checks all the boxes. … We expect him to go out there tomorrow and compete and do well.”
The Astros are 34-40, nine games out of first place in the AL West and six and a half games out of a wild card spot with four teams in front. There is plenty of baseball to be played, but Houston could use a turnaround before the All-Star break to gain momentum before the second half.
The Astros are trying to defy the odds and reach the postseason again, where anything is possible.
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