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Getting to know Jake Bloss, who might be the Blue Jays’ newest top prospect
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Photo credit: © Thomas Shea - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Jul 29, 2024, 20:45 EDTUpdated: Jul 29, 2024, 20:43 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays continue to make trades.
On Monday evening, the Blue Jays traded starter Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros. One prospect they received in that trade is 23-year-old right-handed pitcher, Jake Bloss.
The 6’3”, 205 lb starter was selected in the third-round of the 2023 draft by the Astros from Georgetown University. Bloss spent his first three at Lafayette College before transferring to Georgetown for the 2023 season. In his four collegiate seasons, he finished with a 4.26 ERA in 184 innings pitched, along with 25.7 K% and a 9.4 BB% before the Astros selected him in the 2023 draft.
Bloss only had seven appearances in his first professional season following the draft, posting a 2.89 ERA and a 3.36 FIP in 18.2 innings pitched, along with a 29.1 K% and a 15.2 BB% between their Arizona Complex League team and the Astros’ Single-A team.
The 2024 season is where Bloss has made a name for himself. Starting the season in High-A as a 22-year-old, he posted a 2.08 ERA and a 2.86 FIP in 17.1 innings pitched, along with a 36.8 K% and an 11.8 BB%. Obviously, he earned a promotion to Double-A, where he had a 1.61 ERA and a 3.37 FIP in 44.2 innings pitched, with a 21.2 K% and a 7.9 BB%.
Bloss made just one start in Triple-A, pitching four innings with no runs given up, before the Astros called him up to help their depleted rotation. The 23-year-old’s three starts weren’t great, as he has a 6.94 ERA and a 7.61 FIP in 11.2 innings pitched with a 20 K% and a 5.5 BB%, but the Blue Jays received an MLB-ready starter for a rental. Pretty good.
Coming into the season, Bloss ranked as MLB Pipeline’s ninth-best Houston Astro prospect and was set to jump to their second-ranked prospect according to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson.
According to Pipeline, he features a low-90s fastball that can max out at 97 mph. Bloss also has a curveball, slider, and changeup in his repertoire, with the latter being his worst pitch. The command is average, but he has “middle-of-the-rotation” starter written all over him. It’ll be interesting to see his new report whenever Pipeline releases it.
It’s also worth noting that not only did the Blue Jays acquire a top prospect, but an MLB-ready prospect at that. Acquiring Bloss will help the Jays push for a postseason spot in 2025, but the team also landed a pitcher with five additional seasons of team control.
Bloss alone, makes this trade good.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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