While there is Trey Yesavage in this class that can make an immediate impact on the Blue Jays in 2026, they did a great job of drawing a wide variety of talents in to the system. Despite losing their second round pick due to the Anthony Santander signing, Toronto moved money around by shaving about 9% off of first rounder JoJo Parker's bonus and using that money to float a second round talent down to the twelfth round in Blaine Bullard. With their two highest-paid draftees being high school hitters (and three of their top four), the Blue Jays are banking on upside and could bring in a few future stars here. While position players dominated the higher paid draftees (overall five of top six bonuses), pitchers made up the bulk of the mid to smaller bonus draftees as Toronto opted for depth on that front after hitting a home run on Yesavage.
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Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.
1-8: SS JoJo Parker, Purvis HS [MS]
Slot value: $6.81 million. Signing bonus: $6.2 million ($613,600 below slot value).
My rank: #10. MLB Pipeline: #9. Baseball America: #10.
A year after landing World Series starting pitcher Trey Yesavage with their first round pick, the Blue Jays went the opposite route with a high school bat in JoJo Parker to start things off in 2025. Previously committed to Mississippi State, #8 pick Parker will instead head north of the border for a slightly below slot bonus that is just under the allotment for the #10 pick. From Eli Willits to Ethan Holliday to Steele Hall to Billy Carlson to Daniel Pierce, there were many interesting prep bats available at the top of the draft, yet perhaps none is as complete a hitter as Parker. To say he can swing it would be an understatement. Listed at 6'2", 200 pounds, he already looks like a big leaguer with a thick, strong frame that generates easy bat speed from the left side. His power has ticked up over time and now appears above average, with a chance to get to plus if he can elevate the ball a bit more and continue to tack on strength. Many Mississippi prep bats, especially those from rural areas such as Purvis (about fourteen miles south of Hattiesburg), have been derided as raw from a hit tool perspective. Not Parker. He was excellent against high caliber showcase opponents last summer, showing little drop-off in moving from Southern Mississippi competition to the best in the country. Indeed, he still came back and won the Mississippi Gatorade State Player of the Year award this past spring, demolishing everything in sight and looking every bit of a plus hitter. There are some scouts that even put a 70 grade on Parker's ability to work counts, use the whole field, and get on base. Ultimately, this is a mature hitter beyond his years with burgeoning thump who could hit in the middle of the lineup in Toronto in short order. That's 25+ home runs annually with high on-base percentages if he reaches his peak. Meanwhile, he is a fringy runner who can lumber a bit in the infield, making shortstop a stretch long term. He has just enough arm to play a solid third base, which seems like his most likely destination to me, or he could slide over and become an offense-oriented second baseman. Either way, the bat will carry him to the big leagues and the fact that he can stick on the infield at all is just a big cherry on top. His twin brother, Jacob, was a nineteenth round pick of the Diamondbacks this year and ranked #138 on my board, but he'll make it to campus rather than join the Snakes.
3-81: OF Jake Cook, Southern Mississippi
Slot value: $993,900. Signing bonus: $922,500 ($71,400 below slot value).
My rank: #89. MLB Pipeline: #106. Baseball America: #211.
Blue Jays scouting director Mark Tramuta must have enjoyed his trips to Southern Mississippi because after taking Purvis High School shortstop JoJo Parker in the first round, he turned around and took Southern Miss outfielder Jake Cook with his second pick just fourteen miles to the north. Cook is a very, very different prospect, but a fascinating one nonetheless. Originally recruited as a two-way player, he sat on the bench as a freshman in 2023 then saw his first game action in 2024, but only made three relief appearances and allowed at least three runs in each. Switching to hitting full time in 2025, he picked up a bat for the first time since high school and the results were phenomenal, earning second team all-Sun Belt honors despite the layoff in reps. Cook stands out first and foremost for some of the best athleticism the draft as seen in recent years. At the MLB Draft Combine back in June, his 30 yard dash time (3.51s) tied the Combine's all time record while his 10'8" long jump set the record. With that elite speed and athleticism, combined with his lean 6'3", 185 pound frame, he seems like the kind of guy who could slot right in as a pro wide receiver. Secondarily, his next best tool is bat to ball, as he runs some of the best contact rates in the country with a flat left handed swing that can adjust to about anywhere in the zone. The power is well below average for now, possibly as low as a 30 grade, as his modest exit velocities get no help from that flat swing that is geared to knock line drives from gap to gap. While his elite speed has yet to translate into any baserunning success, it does serve him extremely well in center field where he has a chance to compete for Gold Gloves with excellent instincts and an arm that can run fastballs up to 96 on the mound. It's a really fun profile for the Blue Jays to tinker with. On one hand, the power is far, far away from being a game changer. On the other, projection remains on his lean 6'3" frame. He has the bat to ball to make it work, and even if he sacrificed some contact to start getting the ball up in the air a little more, he'll never have to worry about striking out too much. Combine those factors with the fact that you simply cannot teach the athleticism he has, and this profile could develop in any number of directions. Let's just wait back and enjoy the ride.
4-112: RHP Micah Bucknam, Dallas Baptist
Slot value: $680,00. Signing bonus: $678,300 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #131. Baseball America: #323.
In the fourth round, the Blue Jays picked up the first of two consecutive Canadians in their draft class. Born in New Zealand, he grew up in Abbotsford, a mid-size city about forty miles southeast of Vancouver. He went to Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford and drew Toronto's attention, but he turned down the Blue Jays in the 16th round and headed to LSU. He flashed big stuff for the Tigers but struggled to break through their deep bullpen, then transferred to Dallas Baptist for the 2025 season where he took off as the club's Friday night starter. Bucknam throws his fastball in the low to mid 90's, touching 97 at peak, but the pitch plays down because of a generic movement profile. Instead, he stands out most for his secondary pitches. The slider comes in with upper 80's power and tight, late bite to miss a ton of bats, while his truer curveball slows hitters down and proves equally difficult to square up. There is also a changeup in the mix, fading firmly to the glove side at best, though it is less consistent than his other pitches. Bucknam's control is ahead of his command and while he pounds the zone aggressively (a respectable 9.1% walk rate in 2025), he doesn't hit his spots so well and with a straight fastball, that can get him in trouble. The 6'1" righty is well built, appears durable, and repeats his clean delivery well, and with the four pitch mix he should have what it takes to stick in the rotation. The Blue Jays would like to find a way to pull more movement out of his fastball, which already has the velocity to be an effective big league pitch. If they can, there is suddenly mid-rotation upside here as a guy who can really spin the ball and fill up the strike zone. If not, those breaking balls in short stints will give hitters fits.
5-143: 3B Tim Piasentin, Foothills Composite HS [AB]
Slot value: $503,800. Signing bonus: $747,500 ($243,700 above slot value).
My rank: #145. MLB Pipeline: #160. Baseball America: #108.
Two picks, two kids from British Columbia for the Blue Jays. Tim Piasentin, who signed for late third round money here in the fifth round rather than attend Miami, grew up in the eastern Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam but attended powerhouse Foothills Composite High School a province over in Okotoks, about twenty miles south of Calgary. There, he caught scouts' attention with a 6'3", 200 pound, big league-ready body and power to match. His left handed swing is geared to clobber baseballs in the air, while his strength plays for potentially plus raw power. One of Canada's more famous prep prospects for a while now, he has been seen frequently against higher level international competition and has performed well, leading to confidence that his power will translate against pro pitching even if there are some questions about his ability to hit quality offspeed stuff. There is a chance he grows into 25-30 home runs annually with decent on-base percentages to hit near the middle of the Blue Jays' lineup. Defensively, Toronto will work him hard to keep him at third base. He moves well for his size and has a cannon right arm, giving him something to go off to start. He'll need to maintain his conditioning and agility in order to stick, and if he slows down at all as he matures physically, he may have to move to first base. That would put more pressure on the hit tool, as plus power is harder to come by at the hot corner than it is at first base. Toronto likely believes in the hit tool, the defense, or both and sees him as an every day power hitter for their future lineups.
6-172: SS Eric Snow, Auburn
Slot value: $383,600. Signing bonus: $381,100 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #462.
Eric Snow did not rank highly on big public boards, but this is a nice find for Toronto. Snow rode a big spring at Mary Parsons High School in central Georgia to significant late movement up draft boards, but ultimately decided to head to USF to further that momentum. He hit well as a freshman and seemed to position himself well for a standout college career, but took a step backwards as a sophomore and saw his OPS drop 264 points from .944 to .680. Transferring to Auburn for his junior season, he bounced back in a big way with his OPS rising back to .896 despite the Tigers' tough SEC schedule. Snow is the shortest player in this Blue Jays draft class at just 5'8", but he punches above his weight. He is an excellent contact hitter that controls the strike zone well, showing plus bat to ball skills that helped him strike out just 10.2% of the time in 2025. He uses the whole field effectively with a simple, direct right handed swing and should have no trouble jumping from the SEC to pro ball, a year after jumping from the AAC to the SEC. While he'll always be contact over power, Snow has a little thump in his bat and projects for fringy raw power, enough to comfortably project for 10-15 home runs per season at the big league level. Combine that with potentially high batting averages from an infielder and you have a sneaky every day big leaguer. While he may not be able to stick at shortstop, he has seen time all over the infield and likely projects as an average defensive second baseman.
9-262: RHP Karson Ligon, Mississippi State
Slot value: $206,900. Signing bonus: $125,000 ($81,900 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Karson Ligon didn't ranked on many public boards, but he's a real arm that could contribute in Toronto soon. Ligon began his career as well-regarded freshman at Miami, where he spent two seasons in the rotation to solid results. He transferred to Mississippi State for his junior season, spent most of the season in the bullpen, then found his way back into the starting rotation in 2025 where he made fifteen starts. After four seasons at two power programs, he has 56 appearances (42 starts) under his belt and has thrown over 200 collegiate innings. It's a really solid four pitch imx. Ligon sits in the low 90's with his fastball and reaches the mid 90's at peak, albeit with average movement. His best pitch is a hard downer slider in the upper 80's that dives under bats late, while his true curveball looks to be another above average pitch with hammer action. The Florida native misses bats with his changeup as well, diving to the arm side late to round out the arsenal. Ligon's command is probably more on the fringy side, but he has a clean delivery and with pro coaching could reach average command in time. He has a durable frame at 6'1", 210 pounds and has reached both double digit starts and 50+ innings in three of his four college seasons, so if he can hold the command together just enough, he could be a #4 or #5 MLB starter. It's not necessarily the kind of profile that explodes in the bullpen, but he spins the ball well enough that he could be very effective in that role as well.
11-322: LHP Jared Spencer, Texas
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $165,000 ($15,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: #114. MLB Pipeline: #113. Baseball America: #115.
This is incredible value for the Blue Jays in the eleventh round, barely above slot value, though it may say something about his medical outlook. Jared Spencer began his career at Indiana State, where he pitched in a variety of roles over three seasons and made 59 appearances. Transferring to Texas for his senior year, he came out of the gate red hot with gems against Louisville, Washington, and Santa Clara. After more pedestrian starts in his first three SEC outings, he dominated Georgia and threw very well against Kentucky to vault himself into the top two rounds conversation. Unfortunately, he went down with a shoulder injury in April and had season-ending surgery, clouding the draft status of a pitcher who turned 22 on draft day. When healthy, Spencer has some of the best left handed stuff in the class. The fastball sits in the mid 90's and touches 98 with run, quite a few ticks higher than he sat at Indiana State. His slider is his best pitch with plus, late bite diving under bats, while his changeup has stepped forward in Austin as well and now looks average. The 6'3" lefty has an athletic, projectable frame, though his uptempo delivery impacts his command which is presently just fringy. With a potent three pitch mix, big frame, and strong track record, he should still have the profile to be a solid mid-rotation starter even with the fringy command, but the shoulder injury really clouds things. Shoulders are notoriously unpredictable, much more so than elbows, and judging by how far Spencer fell in the draft, I'd be a bit concerned about the current prognosis. If there are any lingering effects from the shoulder injury when he hopefully returns in 2026, there is a good chance he falls to the bullpen given his command. In that role, many have compared him to Josh Hader, a comparison certainly helped by his long brown hair.
12-352: OF Blaine Bullard, Klein Cain HS [TX]
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $1.2 million ($1.05 million against bonus pool).
My rank: #90. MLB Pipeline: #120. Baseball America: #151.
The Blue Jays' second biggest bonus of the draft came not in the second round, not in the third round, but in the twelfth round, where Blaine Bullard signed away from a Texas A&M commitment for roughly the value of the #70 pick. He ranked right next to Jays' third rounder Jake Cook on my pre-draft board at #89 and #90, and the way he's trending he has a chance to outplay that ranking. Bullard was a helium guy who rocketed up draft boards with a very strong spring at Klein Cain High School in the Houston suburbs, catching the eyes of regional scouts and eventually national scouting directors. Listed at 6'2", 180 pounds, he has an athletic frame to dream on still with plenty of room to add good weight. He's a switch hitter with a pair of quick swings that can ambush baseballs and turn velocity around effortlessly, leading to a potential above average hit tool. It's a line drive bat for now, but given his frame it's not hard to see him tacking on significant strength and becoming an average or better power hitter in addition to a strong contact bat. The swing can get steep at times, especially from the right side, but that should iron out with pro coaching. Throw in his plus speed and twitchy athleticism and it is really an exciting profile. Toronto's player development will have a lot to work with and if they get it right, could turn Bullard into a 20-20 center fielder who can hit for heathy batting averages too. The combination of floor and ceiling here is pretty hard to find outside of the top couple of rounds, part of why I had him ranked well above many other outlets.
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