Astros promoting P Jake Bloss to make MLB debut on Friday

The Houston Astros will call up Double-A right-hander Jake Bloss to make his major-league debut on Friday against the visiting Baltimore Orioles, manager Joe Espada announced Thursday.

It's an aggressive promotion for Bloss, a third-round pick in last year's draft who has made only eight starts this season at Corpus Christi.

"Tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day," Espada said. "His stuff is really, really good. A strike-thrower, upper 90s, can spin the ball. All the things we hear about his makeup, he checks all the boxes. ... We expect him to go out there tomorrow and compete and do well."

Bloss, who turns 23 on Sunday, is 3-1 with a 1.61 ERA and is holding hitters to a .127 batting average in Double-A. Last week, he teamed with reliever Cesar Gomez for the first nine-inning no-hitter in Corpus Christi history.

Bloss began this season at High-A Asheville, where he went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in four starts.

The Astros open a three-game home series on Friday against the Orioles, who are expected to send right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (8-2, 3.20 ERA) to the mound.

--Field Level Media