Prospect Jake Bloss on IL after MLB debut

The Astros placed pitching prospect Jake Bloss, who made his major league debut Friday, on the 15-day injured list Saturday due to what the team called “right shoulder discomfort.” “.

Bloss, a third-round pick in last year’s draft, was recalled from Double-A to start Friday’s series opener against the Orioles and left his debut with a fourth-inning manager after 79 throws. Bloss said that after the game he felt “a little twinge” in his shoulder in the fourth.

“He’s seeing our doctors today,” manager Joe Espada said Saturday morning. “He takes pictures. But for now, it’s just a sore shoulder.

Espada said a drop in Bloss’ speed caused him to visit the mound in the fourth. Bloss averaged 93.8 mph on his fastball in his start, a notch below his reported velocity in the minors. Espada, who saw Bloss pitch for the first time Friday, said he thought Bloss’s “stuff was really good” before his final inning.

The Astros called up Bloss to help an injury-thinned rotation. Placing Bloss on the IL leaves them with four healthy starters on their 40-man roster.

Due to the days off, Houston could make do with four starters until its series in Toronto. Espada, however, said the team would prefer to add a fifth starter for the previous series in New York to lessen the impact on its current rotation. Justin Verlander, who is on the IL for 15 days due to a neck ailment, is eligible to return July 1 in Toronto, but he has not yet returned to throwing.

“We’re going to ask a lot from the guys that we’ve asked a lot from over the last few weeks,” Espada said. “So we are currently looking at ways to manage that.”