Houston Astros promote superstar pitching prospect to major leagues

It’s been a brutal year for the Houston Astros and their pitching staff.

Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy are done for the season, Justin Verlander is back on the injured list for the second time, two of their starters aren’t expected to be back before the All-Star break, and their ace Framber Valdez has been just an average pitcher in the league.

For this reason, the Astros are looking for any answer that can help this rotation string together consistent performances and allow their offense to win them games so they can get back into playoff contention.

It was thought they might become buyers at the trade deadline to resolve their issues.

Instead, they’re going to look at another one of their internal options at the moment, like Chandler Rome’s Athleticism reports that Houston is promoting its star prospect Jake Bloss straight from Double-A to the bigs and will make his debut Friday against the Baltimore Orioles.

“I’m not afraid to move guys quickly. He’s showing us that he can throw strikes, that he has power and that he can save innings. If he continues to improve, we don’t know ever. Our rotation has been a little beat up. “I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Bloss,” general manager Dana Brown said previously.

He clearly feels like it’s time to see what the 22-year-old can do.

Bloss was a third-round pick by the Astros in 2023 and he’s been impressive ever since. With their Single-A affiliate that season, he posted a 2.76 ERA in five appearances and four starts. This earned him a promotion to High Single-A to start this year before moving up to Double-A.

In 12 total starts this season, the right-hander posted a 1.74 ERA.

It will be interesting to see how he pitches at the Major League level. Former top pitcher Spencer Arrighetti struggled before finding himself after a rough start.

Bloss will now have the opportunity to show what he can do for Houston.