Concern Grows as Blue Jays Top Pitching Prospect Has Imaging on Elbow

The Toronto Blue Jays are holding their breath as they wait to hear more about their young pitching prospect Jake Bloss.

Mar 5, 2025; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jake Bloss (39) throws a pitch during the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays are bleeding starting pitching and now they’re worried about one of their top prospect arms at Triple-A Buffalo.

Jake Bloss, who joined the organization last year and is the No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was moved to the 7-day injured list on Tuesday.

While his MiLB player page doesn’t list the injury, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reported on social media that Bloss went for imaging on his right elbow.

The right-hander left his last start on Saturday in the fourth inning with a trainer. In six starts, he was 0-5 with a 6.46 ERA. He had 24 strikeouts and 13 walks in 23.2 innings.

Had he been pitching better Bloss might have been an option for the starting rotation, as the Blue Jays are dealing with a significant number of injuries. Instead, the Blue Jays signed Spencer Turnbull and Jose Urena over the weekend.

The fact that Bloss is getting imaging is concerning. Right now, he is the second-highest ranked pitching prospect at Triple-A. Ahead of him is Rick Tiedemann, a left-hander projected to be ready for the Majors next season.

The top pitching prospect in the organization is Trey Yesavage, who is at Class-A Dunedin.

How Bloss Landed with Blue Jays

Bloss was part of the return the Blue Jays received in the Yusei Kikuchi trade with the Houston Astros last season. Oddly, Toronto will face Kikuchi on Wednesday, who is now with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Blue Jays also received outfielder Joey Loperfido and second baseman Will Wagner.

Before he arrived in Toronto, he made three starts with the Astros. He went 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA with 11 strikeouts and three walks in 11.2 innings.

One he arrived he was assigned to Buffalo, where he started eight games and went 0-4 with a 6.91 ERA. He struck out 25 and walked 15 in 27.1 innings.

Houston selected him in the third round of the 2023 MLB draft out of Georgetown. He was impressive in his first minor league appearances later that year, as he went 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in seven games (six starts). He struck out 23 and walked 12 in 18.2 innings.

Last season he rose from High-A Asheville to Double-A Corpus Christi before he was promoted to start for Houston on June 21. Two weeks later, he was sent back to Triple-A Sugar Land on July 6 and then went on the injured list on July 11.