Blue Jays’ 2022 first-round pick Brandon Barriera needs elbow surgery

It is worth noting that he was reportedly going to see Dr. Keith Meister, the same doctor who did former Blue Jay Nick Frasso’s Tommy John surgery.  As you may recall, Frasso received a brace in his version of Tommy John surgery, which Miester “revolutionized” according to this Dallas News article.

Barriera, 20, was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2022 with the 23rd overall pick. The left-handed pitcher started his professional career in 2023, where he posted a 4.42 ERA and a 3.26 FIP in 18.1 innings pitched with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays. He also had a 31.5 K% and an 11 BB%, but you could easily see why the Jays selected him where they did.

In his first start of the season, Barriera was pulled after just an inning and a third due to this injury, where he gave up two earned runs and struck out a batter.

This is one of many injuries to pitchers in the Blue Jays organization and in the league as a whole. In terms of other prospects, Ricky Tiedemann also had elbow discomfort, but should be throwing again soon. Another pitcher, Landen Maroudis, has a forearm injury and is also on the 7-day Injured List for the Dunedin Blue Jays.

For the big league team, Kevin Gausman and Yariel Rodríguez both had limited outings in Spring Training due to injury, while starter Alek Manoah is still on a rehab assignment in Buffalo that ends on May 7. Relievers Erik Swanson and Jordan Romano started the season on the 15-day Injured List, but have returned to game action.

Hopefully the surgery goes well and Barriera returns in the shortest amount of time, as this is a pretty major surgery for a young pitcher.