What a disastrous start to the season for Blue Jays pitching prospects.
On Sunday afternoon, right-handed pitcher Landen Maroudis left the Dunedin Blue Jays game with the trainer. According to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, Maroudis’ velocity was down in the third inning, before leaving after throwing a slider.
#BlueJays No. 12 prospect Landen Maroudis just left his Single-A start with an injury.
Maroudis' velocity suddenly dipped in the 3rd, and after a slider, Maroudis left with the trainer.
Maroudis, 19, has as much upside as any Toronto pitching prospect outside Ricky Tiedemann.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) April 21, 2024
The 19-year-old was selected in the fourth-round of the 2023 draft, or 121st overall. He made his professional debut in 2024, posting a 1.08 ERA and a 3.15 FIP in 8.1 innings pitched with the Single-A team. Moreover, he has a 32.1 K%, but a rather high BB%. When factoring in this game, his ERA dropped to 0.84 while also picking up three strikeouts.
This isn’t the first injury suffered by a top Blue Jays’ pitching prospect this season. On April 6, Blue Jays’ 2022 first-round Brandon Barriera was pulled from his first start of the season after pitching just an inning and a third. The 20-year-old left-handed pitcher remains on the 7-day Injured List.
Moreover, top Blue Jays prospect Ricky Tiedemann was recently placed on the 7-day Injured List due to “left elbow discomfort” according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. That’s a scary injury for any pitcher, and the latest word is that the team is still awaiting word from the doctors.
Top Blue Jays prospect Ricky Tiedemann underwent an MRI yesterday after experiencing left elbow discomfort, which led to his placement on 7-day IL with Bisons earlier this week. Club is still awaiting word back from doctors.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) April 19, 2024
This doesn’t even factor the big league roster and their injuries. Closer Jordan Romano and setup man Erik Swanson both missed the start of the season with injuries to their throwing arm. On Saturday, the Jays placed Chad Green on the 15-day Injured List due to a lat injury. Starters like Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah and Yariel Rodríguez all missed parts of Spring Training due to injuries as well.
Hopefully, taking Maroudis out of the game is just a precaution, as the righty was looking great to start his professional career. As more information becomes available, this article will be updated.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
