Injuries ravaged the Toronto Blue Jays&#8217; prospect system in 2024, mainly on the pitching front, with several key arms undergoing season-ending surgeries that have sidelined them through the start of this season. But a pair of hurlers from that injury-riddled group may soon be back in action. 
According to MLB.com&#8217;s Keegan Matheson, pitching prospects Landen Maroudis and Brandon Barriera will likely be ready to begin rehab assignments in the coming weeks after making positive strides in their respective rehab programs following spring training.
Neither pitcher has thrown a single pitch in a live-game setting since April &#8217;24.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> top prospects are out to an impressive start and there’s more good news coming off rehabs soon:
Landen Maroudis (#8) should return to games within the next few weeks and Brandon Barriera (#14) should follow soon after.
Encouraging things happening on the pitching side
&mdash; Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1918302885944692871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Maroudis, a fourth-round selection by the Blue Jays organization in 2023, only made two starts in his first season of pro ball before being shut down due to right elbow soreness. He was able to avoid Tommy John surgery, though, instead opting for an internal brace procedure to repair his UCL.
That has typically resulted in a quicker recovery time of the two elbow procedures, which will likely allow the 20-year-old righty to return to game action in just over 12 months.
Toronto&#8217;s No. 8 prospect per <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/bluejays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB Pipeline</a> racked up 12 strikeouts over 10.2 innings in three appearances (two starts) before landing on the shelf last season, allowing just one run on three hits and four walks.
Barriera, whose recovery timeline is a bit behind Maroudis&#8217;, as Matheson reports, also used an internal brace as part of his hybrid Tommy John surgery last April. That procedure ended his second professional campaign after just an inning and a third, where he surrendered a pair of runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one in his lone start of &#8217;24.
The 21-year-old lefty &#8212; the organization&#8217;s No. 15 prospect and first-round selection in 2022 &#8212; has spent the past several months further improving his strength and conditioning, which many hope will allow him to regain the upper-90s fastball velocity he displayed prior to going under the knife last spring.
It&#8217;s been a string of injury-plagued seasons for Barriera, who was limited to just 20.1 innings during his transition into pro ball in &#8217;23 and hasn&#8217;t compiled more than 21.2 career innings thus far, meaning the Blue Jays will surely apply extra caution moving forward as they attempt to keep him on the field.
<blockquote>&#8220;This is about as good physically as he&#8217;s looked since we&#8217;ve had him,&#8221; Blue Jays director of player development <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/toronto-blue-jays-spring-training-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Sclafani told MLB.com&#8217;s Sam Dykstra in March</a>. &#8220;Obviously, he got bigger and then tapered it back. Physically, he&#8217;s in a really good spot. Mentally, he&#8217;s in a really good spot. He&#8217;s trending in a really good direction. We&#8217;re excited.&#8221;</blockquote>
While this franchise&#8217;s pitching pipeline was gutted by injuries a season ago, it&#8217;s undoubtedly much better positioned during the early stages of the &#8217;25 season, especially at the lower levels. Recent draftees Trey Yesavage and Khal Stephen have been taking young hitters to school at single-A and should soon be on their way to high-A Vancouver, where they&#8217;ll join a starting staff that already includes Kendry Rojas, Juaron Watts-Brown and Jackson Wentworth.
Once Maroudis and Barriera are ready, they&#8217;ll likely meet up with the Canadians later this season, too, further adding to the pool of talent that&#8217;ll reside at high-A this season &#8212; which also includes a position-player group headlined by top prospect Arjun Nimmala.

Injuries ravaged the Toronto Blue Jays' prospect system in 2024, mainly on the pitching front, with several key arms undergoing season-ending surgeries that have sidelined them through the start of this season. But a pair of hurlers from that injury-riddled group may soon be back in action. 

According to MLB.com's Keegan Matheson, pitching prospects Landen Maroudis and Brandon Barriera will likely be ready to begin rehab assignments in the coming weeks after making positive strides in their respective rehab programs following spring training.

Neither pitcher has thrown a single pitch in a live-game setting since April '24.

https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1918302885944692871

Maroudis, a fourth-round selection by the Blue Jays organization in 2023, only made two starts in his first season of pro ball before being shut down due to right elbow soreness. He was able to avoid Tommy John surgery, though, instead opting for an internal brace procedure to repair his UCL.

That has typically resulted in a quicker recovery time of the two elbow procedures, which will likely allow the 20-year-old righty to return to game action in just over 12 months.

Toronto's No. 8 prospect per <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/bluejays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB Pipeline</a> racked up 12 strikeouts over 10.2 innings in three appearances (two starts) before landing on the shelf last season, allowing just one run on three hits and four walks.

Barriera, whose recovery timeline is a bit behind Maroudis', as Matheson reports, also used an internal brace as part of his hybrid Tommy John surgery last April. That procedure ended his second professional campaign after just an inning and a third, where he surrendered a pair of runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one in his lone start of '24.

The 21-year-old lefty -- the organization's No. 15 prospect and first-round selection in 2022 -- has spent the past several months further improving his strength and conditioning, which many hope will allow him to regain the upper-90s fastball velocity he displayed prior to going under the knife last spring.

It's been a string of injury-plagued seasons for Barriera, who was limited to just 20.1 innings during his transition into pro ball in '23 and hasn't compiled more than 21.2 career innings thus far, meaning the Blue Jays will surely apply extra caution moving forward as they attempt to keep him on the field.
<blockquote>"This is about as good physically as he's looked since we've had him," Blue Jays director of player development <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/toronto-blue-jays-spring-training-report-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Sclafani told MLB.com's Sam Dykstra in March</a>. "Obviously, he got bigger and then tapered it back. Physically, he's in a really good spot. Mentally, he's in a really good spot. He's trending in a really good direction. We're excited."</blockquote>
While this franchise's pitching pipeline was gutted by injuries a season ago, it's undoubtedly much better positioned during the early stages of the '25 season, especially at the lower levels. Recent draftees Trey Yesavage and Khal Stephen have been taking young hitters to school at single-A and should soon be on their way to high-A Vancouver, where they'll join a starting staff that already includes Kendry Rojas, Juaron Watts-Brown and Jackson Wentworth.

Once Maroudis and Barriera are ready, they'll likely meet up with the Canadians later this season, too, further adding to the pool of talent that'll reside at high-A this season -- which also includes a position-player group headlined by top prospect Arjun Nimmala.

Report: Blue Jays pitching prospects Landen Maroudis, Brandon Barriera nearing returns to game action

National League pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates (30) pitches against the American League in the first inning during the 2024 MLB All-Star game at Globe Life Field

Recent articles from Thomas Hall

Breaking News