Brandon Barriera is officially on the way back.

After making only one start in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, Barriera made his return to game action Friday in the Florida Complex League, completing a pair of scoreless innings while retiring five of his six batters faced. The lone base runner to reach against him came via a single in the first inning, which was neutralized on a double-play to end the frame.

The 21-year-old southpaw — selected 23rd overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022 — failed to record a strikeout but induced four groundouts and one popout before departing.

Fellow rehabbing hurler Nick Sandlin entered out of the bullpen in the top half of the third, retiring three consecutive batters — two via strikeout — after allowing a leadoff single. He was tagged for a pair of runs (one earned) in his second inning of work, recording his third punchout of the contest before being lifted with one out in the fourth.

Barriera’s 2024 campaign was cut short due to his elbow injury after just one single-A start, exiting his season debut in Dunedin with one out in the second inning. The left-hander made seven total starts between single-A and the Florida Complex League during his first season of pro ball in ’23, pitching to a 3.98 ERA and 3.28 FIP with 25 strikeouts and nine walks across 20.1 innings.

The Brooklyn, New York, native had been throwing extremely well in live batting practice sessions prior to beginning his rehab assignment, hitting as high as 99 m.p.h. with his fastball, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.

Given how much time Barriera has missed, the next several weeks will essentially act as his spring training, allowing him to build up to a starter’s workload. It’ll likely take the rest of the first half for him to reach that point. But, considering he’s already logged a pair of innings over a year removed from surgery, it’s fair to say he’s off to an encouraging start.

For reference, Landen Maroudis — who underwent an internal brace UCL procedure around the same time as Barriera’s season-ending surgery — is nearing a return to single-A after making five FCL appearances (four starts) and working up to four innings in his most recent outing on May 29.