By: Brian Frank
It’s been a bit of a whirlwind summer for new Bisons hurler Jake Bloss. Not only did he move from Low-A to the major leagues, but he also changed organizations. After rising rapidly through the Astros system, Bloss was traded to the Blue Jays at July’s major-league trade deadline. He came to Toronto along with outfielder Joey Loperfido and infielder Will Wagner for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Although the trade came as somewhat of a surprise to Bloss, he was also bracing for it.
“It was definitely a surprise,” Bloss said in a recent interview with The Herd Chronicles. “but also, I've been watching trades happen, so you know something's probably going to happen. You never know for sure who's going to be involved, but you know there's a chance, so you kind of prepare yourself a little bit.”
“I was supposed to start that day against the Pirates,” he continued. “A couple hours before, I got called into (Astros manager) Joe Espada’s office. The pitching coach Josh Miller was there too. They were like, ‘Hey, we're going to scratch you today. You're in a bunch of trade talks. We don't know you've been traded, but just go get your catch play in.’ Then a couple hours later, (Astros general manager) Dana Brown, said, ‘Can I talk to you?’ I was like – I think I know where this is going. And I saw Loperfido walking by, so you kind of know before it happens.”
Bloss pitching in his Bisons debut with Joey Votto playing first base. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles
After the trade, the Blue Jays assigned Bloss to the Bisons. However, before reporting to Buffalo, he made the journey to Rogers Centre to get an introduction to his new organization.
“They did a couple tests,” he remembered. “Just like movement tests. I got to meet (major league director of health and performance) Andrew Pipkin, the trainer there. (Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek) Manoah was there. I got to talk to him, which is cool. (Blue Jays president and CEO Mark) Shapiro and (general manager) Ross Atkins were there. So, I got to meet some guys and see the facilities.”
“(It was about) getting my bearings,” he continued. “I think ‘catch your breath’ are the words they used. But it was also because I was supposed to pitch Monday and then the trade happened. It takes a couple days to get to Toronto. So, it was a while in between outings. At that point, you kind of have to build back up a little bit. I threw a bullpen there and then came here (to Buffalo).”
Bloss, already rated by MLB Pipeline as the Blue Jays third best overall prospect, grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. One of his most cherished childhood baseball memories didn’t come on the mound, but rather at the plate, when he belted a ball over the fence in little league.
“My first home run,” he smiled. “I was probably eight or something. That's just pretty cool. I remember it was right down the line – and I didn't know until I was halfway to second.”
After graduating from The Early College at Guilford in Greensboro, North Carolina, he attended Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
“I really liked the coaching staff there and I knew I wanted to play D1 baseball – and it's a good school,” he said. “My parents always pushed education. So, it kind of checked off all the boxes. I loved it. Great guys. I still keep in touch with a lot of those guys. Good, bunch of players, great school. So yeah, good spot.”
Education was always a focus in his family and Bloss took his studies seriously. He graduated from Lafayette with a degree in Economics and Mathematics.
Bloss pitched in 23 career games at Lafayette and made 20 starts. During his senior season, he went 6-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 11 starts, striking out 68 batters in 58 innings pitched.
“There's a lot of good memories at Lafayette,” he said. “A really cool one is throwing a combined no-hitter my sophomore year. But I mean, the Patriot League has got some cool spots. You get to play at Army. You got to play Navy. Every time we played at Army was really cool. Just because they have a really cool campus and their field is right in the middle of the campus. But I mean, cool conference. I’ve got a lot of good memories there.”
After graduating from Lafayette, he attended Georgetown University for graduate school.
“I had a few chances to sign (professionally), but the offer from Georgetown was too good to turn down,” he explained. “I talked to the coaches there. Good school – and the baseball program was really getting hot right about then. Washington D.C. is a very cool spot. My grandparents lived there, so I got to see them a bunch. And once again, it was the right decision, because they develop very well there. I put on some weight, added some velocity, and it turned out really well.”
He ended up earning a Master’s Degree in Finance at Georgetown.
“It's always been my, goal to play baseball as long as I can,” he said. “I think for everybody that's their goal. I know there's people out there that don't have a plan B – like just put all your effort towards this, which is kind of how I was. But my parents were kind of like, I know you want to do this, but let's make sure there's a fallback. So, it's just nice to have that in the back pocket. But like I said, the goal is to play baseball as long as possible.”
In one season pitching for the Hoyas, Bloss went 8-4 with a 2.58 ERA in 14 games (13 starts). He struck out 96 batters and walked only 24 in 76 2/3 innings pitched.
“I had a pretty good fastball coming in,” he said. “They had a good weightlifting program over there. Good weightlifting coaches. I put on 15 pounds and started throwing harder. I unlocked a little more velocity, which always helps. But I think the big change was breaking balls. Getting those consistent shapes and landing those for strikes. The coaching there was really good with Coach Capen and Coach Thompson – really good.”
Bloss was a third round pick of the Houston Astros. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles
He was selected by the Houston Astros in the third round of the 2023 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft.
“I was home,” he said of the moment he was drafted. “I didn't have a big draft party or anything. I just had close family there. Parents, grandparents, sister, a couple close friends. But very cool, definitely a day I won't forget. It was pretty special, because that's been the goal for a long time, so it's cool for it to come to fruition a little bit.”
He reported to the Astros’ Florida Complex League Affiliate, where he had a 3.86 ERA in just two and one-third innings, before being promoted to Fayetteville in the Carolina League, where he had a 2.76 ERA in 16 1/3 innings pitched.
“That first year is short because the draft is in July and then you’ve got to build back up a little to game speed,” he said. “So, it was really only maybe a month and a half of professional baseball. It's kind of just getting your feet wet, learning the ropes a little bit. But there is very good development there. Since Lafayette to Georgetown and in pro ball, I feel like I've developed a lot. I feel like there's a lot of tools they have here that can help you get a lot better and a lot of people that know how to use those tools. So that first year is big on development. Nobody's really caring about results as much because you're still a mile away from the big leagues. They just want to get you as much experience as you can in that month and a half. So that's kind of what that (first year) was, just getting your feet wet and learning the ropes a little and working on whatever you need to work on. Not caring about results as much. Then your first full year, this year for me, is more about trying to go out and perform and climb up levels.”
This season, Bloss rocketed through the Astros system, going all the way from High-A to start the year to the Astros’ starting rotation. He began the season in Ashville in the South Atlantic League, where he had a 2.08 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings pitched. He was promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi in early May, where he continued to dominate. In eight Double-A starts, he had a 1.61 ERA in 44 2/3 innings pitched, fanning 35 batters, while walking 13. Then, in early July, he received the call that every minor-league player dreams about.
“I got the call and like two days before there was actually a hurricane in Corpus,” he remembered. “I was like, I'm throwing in two days. I have to throw today and there was no way to get outside. Someone had a throwing sock that I got and I threw into the throwing sock a little. You wrap it around your arm and you throw the ball. It's like a big sock. You throw the ball and it stops – because there was a hurricane outside. But it was pretty cool, because I was around a few guys when I got the call, and they were like, ‘Who was that?’ I was like, ‘I'm pitching against the Orioles in two days.’ And they’re like, ‘Whoa!’”
Getting promoted to the big leagues from Double-A is definitely not the norm.
“I feel like that route is a lot of time reserved for those first round, top 10 pick guys. So, it is pretty cool to do what they're saying they want you to do and them sticking to their word and moving you up as they see results. I feel like a lot of times, in some orgs, you just get stuck no matter how well you're playing. So, it's, it's nice when you're playing well, for them to shuffle you up. I think there's just been opportunities, kind of every step I've been at – including here. I think there's a lot of opportunities. That's nice, because there's definitely some places where there's not as many opportunities.”
“Some orgs do it more than other orgs, but the Astros – and I'm not sure if this is true or not, but when I first got to Houston, (Jose) Altuve walked up to me and he's like, ‘You know who the last guy to get called up from Double-A was?’ I was like, ‘No, I don't.’ He said, ‘It was me.’ Which was what? Thirteen years ago? I don't know if that's true, but that's what he said. So it's pretty cool.”
His major-league debut came at Houston’s Minute Maid Park against one of baseball’s best teams this season, the Baltimore Orioles.
“I mean, you try not to get too amped up,” Bloss said of his debut. “You try to just treat it like any other game. You're definitely going to be a little amped up, because you've never pitched in front of that many people before. Even at some of these schools that get 5,000 or 10,000 fans at their games, it doesn't compare to 40,000. So, you're going to be amped up. It's just kind of using that and not getting too amped up. But it was a very cool experience, for sure.”
“I had a lot of family there. I had parents, sister, grandparents, Coach Thompson – the Georgetown head coach was there, and some close friends too. It was probably 15 people.”
He ended up allowing two earned runs in three and two-thirds innings and recording two strikeouts. He’d go on to make two more starts for Houston before the trade to the Blue Jays.
Bloss describes himself as being composed when he’s on the mound. He doesn’t get to high when things are going well and he doesn’t get rattled easily.
“I try to be cool and collected out there,” he said. “I don't really get too emotional either way. I try to stay even keeled, whether things are going my way or not. So, I’d say calm.”
Coming out of college, he primarily threw three pitches, but he’s since added to his arsenal.
“I threw fastball, slider, curveball, and kind of threw a changeup – never really threw it, but kind of had it. In pro ball, I've added the cutter, two-seam, and haven't really added the change up, but I've been developing it a lot.”
He considers his four-seam fastball, cut fastball, and sweeper to be his best pitches.
“I throw a four-seam fastball. I’ve always thrown that. I love that thing. When I need a strike, I like to throw that. (I have a) cut fastball, more like a hard slider, but that's also kind of my go-to. Those are my two most used pitches, just because they’re in the zone a lot, I feel like they don't get hit hard a lot. So those are my two most used. Then my more swing and miss pitch would be the sweeper. A bigger, slower slider. Curveball is also a little swing and miss. I'll throw that any count, too.”
Bloss fires a pitch from the Sahlen Field mound. Photo courtesy of the Buffalo Bisons Baseball Club
With a math and economics degree, as well as a finance degree, Bloss is obviously a numbers guy. He’s really into analytics and the data currently provided to players through TrackMan, which provides pitching metrics like spin rate, release speed, vertical release angle, and horizontal release angle.
“I think that's really good feedback,” Bloss said. “Because sometimes you see a pitch and you think it wasn’t great. But then you look at TrackMan and it's moving how you want, so you’ve just got to make a little bit of an adjustment. I think that feedback is really good because someone watching it might see one thing, but that's subjective feedback, and (with TrackMan) you know what you're doing.”
Although he hasn’t been on the Bisons long, the 23-year-old has made a smooth transition and is impressed with what he’s seen so far.
“These guys are all very welcoming – the players and all the coaches,” he said. “So, it's been pretty seamless.”
“I think there's a lot of talent on this team,” he added. “There's a lot of former major leaguers and a lot of soon to be major leaguers on this team. I think the future for the Blue Jays is bright for sure.”
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