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Looking at the biggest area of need for the Blue Jays ahead of the 2026 MLB Draft
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Mar 26, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 26, 2026, 07:23 EDT
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A big reason for the Toronto Blue Jays’ success in 2025 was thanks to their prospect pool.
Their 2024 first round pick, Trey Yesavage, started the season in Single-A and joined the American League East leaders late in the season. A month later, he started Game 1 of the World Series. Two rookie relievers in Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty made a massive impact for the team. Both made the team’s Opening Day roster.
It wasn’t just prospects making big league debuts that had an impact on the 2025 Blue Jays. Ahead of the trade deadline, they shipped out prospects and young players like Juaron Watts-Brown, Khal Stephen, Kendry Rojas, Will Wagner, and Alan Roden for impact players like Seranthony Domínguez, Shane Bieber, and Louis Varland. All three of those pitchers were important in the postseason.
Heading into the 2026 season, the Blue Jays’ farm system sits in the middle of the pack when compared to the rest of the big leagues. Hopefully, a few more prospects can break out in 2026, but if not, the best way to restock their farm system to load up at the 2026 trade deadline is in the 2026 draft.
Due to being past the second luxury tax threshold, their first round pick drops to 39th overall, while they’ve also lost their second-round pick by signing Dylan Cease. While they also lost their fourth-rounder, they essentially got that back in compensation for losing Bo Bichette to the New York Mets.
They have to nail the 2026 MLB Draft, and given their success in the past three drafts, there’s a good chance they do so. That said, what should the Blue Jays be focusing on in the draft?

Where should the Jays focus their attention at the 2026 MLB Draft

One area that isn’t of concern for the Blue Jays is outfield prospects, a massive change from just three years ago. RJ Schreck and Yohendrick Piñango are both on the cusp of the big leagues, while Jake Cook and Victor Arias are two other notable prospects in the system. If the Jays pick an outfielder, a college outfielder would be a solid choice, and they could select Chase Brunson for the second time as he ranks as MLB Pipeline’s 44th-best draft prospect.
They also have three notable shortstop prospects in their top 10, as Arjun Nimmala, JoJo Parker, and Juan Sanchez could be the future of the Blue Jays’ infield. Nimmala is the most likely to stick at shortstop, while Sanchez could move to third and Parker to second base. Sean Keys is their best first base prospect and is a good breakout candidate, while Josh Kasevich is the most MLB-ready infielder.
An infielder wouldn’t be a bad option, namely a college third baseman or another prep shortstop who is half a decade away. In Pipeline’s latest top 100 draft list, prep shortstop Aiden Ruiz ranks as the 36th-best draft eligible prospect, with two prep third baseman, Beau Peterson and Landon Thome, ranking 41st and 42nd. There aren’t any college third basemen who are projected around the 39th overall spot, but Georgia Tech second baseman Jarren Advincula ranks as Pipeline’s 35th best draft prospect.
Thanks to Trey Yesavage and the emergence of Gage Stanifer and Johnny King, the Jays have three pitchers who could be classified as a top 100 prospect in baseball, with Ricky Tiedemann also being around there. Add in an MLB-ready Jake Bloss whenever he returns, and the Jays have a strong abundance of pitching prospects.
That said, the old adage goes that a team cannot have enough pitching, and there are a handful of college pitchers who could be available around the 39th-pick. Left-handed pitchers Hunter Dietz and Cole Carlon attend Arkansas and Arizona State respectively, and rank as Pipeline’s 38th and 39th-best prospects.
Tegan Kuhns, a righty from Tennessee, ranks as their 43rd-best prospect, while lefty Shane Sdao from Texas A&M ranks as Pipeline’s 45th-best prospect. If the Jays go the high school route, 18-year-old Kaden Waechter ranks as Pipeline’s 37th-best prospect available.
At the end of the 2010s and start of the 2020s, the Blue Jays were described as a catching factory, producing talents such as Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and Gabriel Moreno. They’re a far cry from that nowadays, as the 19th-ranked Edward Duran ranks as their top backstop prospect according to MLB Pipeline. They have a handful of notable catchers they signed in recent International Free Agency periods, namely Juan Caricote and Franklin Rojas, while Brandon Valenzuela is their most MLB-ready catching prospect.
A top 10 catching prospect is arguably the Blue Jays’ biggest need, but there doesn’t happen to be a whole lot of catchers available when looking at Pipeline’s top 100 draft prospect list. Prep catcher Will Brick ranks 31st, the lowest-ranked catcher on the list. The other two catchers are Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick (29th) and Georgia Tech’s Vahn Lackey (12th).
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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