7-29-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
The Pirates may have squeaked out a win in the finale of the Diamondbacks series but the road to the playoffs doesn’t get easier as they head to Houston to face the Astros.
While the Bucs send 2023 first overall pick Paul Skenes to the bump, the Astros will send their own 2023 draft pick in 99th overall selection Jake Bloss.
The 23-year old, 3rd round pick out of Georgetown shot through the Houston system, making just 19 minor league appearances and totaling 80.2 innings before his jump to the bigs last month. The Astros 9th ranked prospect showed strong strikeout numbers in the lower levels (30%+ between A/A+) but wasn’t able to replicate that rate against improved competition and has seen it drop to 20% over his first 3 MLB outings.
In the minors this season, Bloss posted a 4-2 record, 1.64 ERA and 0.79 WHIP with 63 strikeouts to 21 walks over 66 innings.
Since his promotion, he has posted a combined 6.94 ERA across 11 innings with 11 strikeouts and 3 walks.
He landed on the injured list after his first outing with reported right shoulder discomfort but his return has continued the run of poor results.
While his first start came against a very good offense in Baltimore (4th in run scored), his last two outings versus Oakland (20th) and Miami (29th) similarly saw him get hit hard.
Bloss features a quintessential four-pitch mix: low-90s 4-seam, high-80s slider/sweeper and high-70s curve with a high-80s changeup occasionally tossed in there as well.
All four of his offerings have opponents hitting .250+ against with his fastball especially suffering as it has been hit at a .381 clip.
In a small sample size, lefties have fared considerably better against Bloss than righties with a 1.109 OPS compared to a “paltry” .897 for RHH.
Regardless, Bucs need not take Bloss lightly. He is still a talented young arm who has shown the proclivity to miss bats and provide quality outings in the minors. Don’t let this be the game he figures it out in the bigs.
Let’s Go Bucs!
Steel City Pirates 