Blue Jays select Cole Travers 582nd overall in 2026 MLB Draft

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Jul 12, 2026, 18:45 EDTUpdated: Jul 12, 2026, 19:05 EDT

It’s not uncommon for the Toronto Blue Jays to draft a prep player with one of their last picks.

This time around, they selected Cole Travers with their 19th-round pick. Standing at 6’3”, 210 lbs, the shortstop attended St John Neumann High School in Naples, Florida.

The big question is whether or not this is a hedge pick. In last year’s draft, Ty Peeples was drafted in the 20th round and attended college. In 2024, it was D’Marion Terrell, and Chase Brunson the year before that. Most of those players were ranked, which differs from Travers.

They’ve had better luck signing prep players who aren’t ranked. In 2025, they selected Jordan Rich, then Gavin Smith in 2024. Back in 2022, they were able to sign Nolan Perry, Gage Stanifer, and Sammy Hernandez, all three of which were drafted in the 12th round or beyond.

Given the track record, it seems as if Travers may sign, while Jake McCoy is the hedge pick. Time will tell, but with a limited bonus pool, it’s almost next to impossible that the Blue Jays can find a way to sign both McCoy and Travers.

Like all other players selected in rounds 11 through 20, Travers has a slot value of $150,000 which won’t count towards the bonus pool. If his signing bonus is higher than that, the difference will be taken from the bonus pool, and it may actually apply to Travers.