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Blue Jays 2026 Draft: History of the 313th overall pick

Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

By Ryley Delaney

Jul 7, 2026, 18:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 8, 2026, 00:01 EDT

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The Toronto Blue Jays have selected two All-Stars with their 10th round selection.

In 2009, they selected Yan Gomes with the 310th overall pick. The catcher went to win a World Series in 2019 and was an All-Star in 2018. Five years later, the Jays selected Jordan Romano with the 272nd overall pick, with Romano going to two All-Star games.

Two players that the Blue Jays selected in the 10th in the second half of the 2010s have gone on to be involved in notable trades. One of which has a connection to a player selected 313th overall. This draft will be the fourth time the Blue Jays have selected 313th overall, and the first time in the 21st century.

Let’s take a look at the history of the 313th overall pick.

Mike Hurdle, 1980

The first time the Jays selected 313th overall was in 1980, using the pick to select Mike Hurdle. As is the case for the other two players the Jays have selected from this spot, Hurdle didn’t play in the big leagues.

He pitched just two seasons in the organization in 1980 and 1981, before being released. But before he was drafted, he represented Team USA at the 1978 Amateur World Series, winning the silver medal with the team.

Sterling Housley, 1985

Five years later, the Jays drafted Sterling Housley with the 313th overall pick. Like Hurdle, he pitched parts of just two seasons in the organization, appearing in 32 games with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1985, then 43 games with the Florence Blue Jays the following season.

Rob Cosby, 1999

Rob Cosby, selected 313th overall in 1999, never played in the big leagues, but he did have an extensive career in the minor leagues. The corner infielder from Puerto Rico made his professional debut with the Med Had Blue Jays in 1999, and didn’t leave the organization until 2007, as he spent the season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

The highest level he reached was Triple-A, and his most action was with Criollos de Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League in 2008-09.

Notable players selected 313th overall

Peter Bourjos is the most notable player selected 313th overall. The centre fielder played 10 big league seasons, slashing .237/.293/.376 with 43 home runs in 2,334 plate appearances, giving him a 9.5 bWAR. Most of his playing time came with the Los Angeles Angels in the early 2010s, but once Mike Trout arrived, Bourjos was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals alongside Randal Grichuk following the 2013 season.

Bourjos went on to play for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017. Another player selected 313th overall, Bob Smith, was an original Devil Ray. Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1992, Smith was selected by the Devils Rays in the expansion draft and spent parts of five seasons with the team. Smith’s best season came in his debut season, slashing .276/.343/.422 with 11 home runs in 416 plate appearances, good for a 2.2 bWAR.

Speaking of debuts, the lone active player who appeared in a Major League Baseball game this season is Zach Cole, who made his debut with the Houston Astros last season. On September 12th, 2025, he went deep on the first big league pitch he ever saw, becoming the 137th player to ever hit his first home run in his first at-bat.

A pitcher named Jon Leicester, not to be confused with Jon Lester, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 200 and pitched in 48 big league games. Similarly, a player named Trey Turner was selected 313th overall in 2017. Ironically, Turner was drafted by the Washington Nationals, who had Trea Turner on their roster at that point.

Everyone knows that the Montréal Expos relocated to Washington for the 2005 season. Their final game came on October 3rd, 2004. In the lineup for them that game was Val Pascucci, who was selected 313th overall in 1996 by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pascucci didn’t sign and was later drafted by the Expos. In the Expos’ final game, he had a three-hit performance and hit the final Expos’ double in franchise history in what was an 8-1 loss to the New York Mets. That game also happened to be Pascucci’s game until he joined the Mets in 2011 for a handful of games.

Frank Seminara, selected by the New York Yankees in 1988, also played for the Mets. Seminara is one of four other big leaguers selected 313th overall who won’t have a paragraph here, with Tom Fordham, Mike Hart, and Robbie Weinhardt joining him in that category.

Well, not quite, as former Blue Jay Richard Lovelady was also selected 313th overall. Currently on the Nationals (and the Mets earlier this season), Lovelady made the Jays bullpen out of Spring Training in 2025, but pitched in just two games before being DFA’d.

Those 10 players are the only ones selected 313th overall to make their big league debut, but there are also a few notable players who never made the big leagues. One of them is Walter Beede, who the Cubs selected in the 1981 draft.

Beede is still involved in baseball, guiding soon-to-be-college players in the recruitment process. While Beede coached eight seasons at Becker College, his son, Tyler, pitched three seasons at Vanderbilt. He was eventually picked 14th overall in 2014, but three years before, he was drafted by the Blue Jays 21st overall before heading to college.

At the start of the article, I mentioned how two players selected in the 10th round were involved in major trades. One, Kirby Snead, was part of the package that landed the Jays Matt Chapman. Cal Steveson was drafted by the team in 2018, and a year later, he was part of the package that landed the Jays Derek Fisher.

Funnily enough, Fisher’s signing scout was selected 313th overall. The Chicago White Sox selected Tim Bittner in 2001, and despite never making it to the big leagues, Bittner became a scout for the Astros following his retirement, leading them to picking Fisher.

Bittner was selected out of Marist College, one of 20 players selected from that school. The following draft saw three Marist College alumni drafted, including Anthony Bocchino. Like Bittner, he was selected 313th overall.

Another player selected 313th overall who is still in baseball is Jeff Hubbard. Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1984, Hubbard is a minority owner of the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. Former Blue Jay prospect Nick Frasso pitched for the team in 2023, which happens to be the same year Hubbert’s family sold majority ownership to Diamond Baseball Holders, who own both the Vancouver Canadians and New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

There were a few great names selected 313th overall, including 1969 draftee Buck Darrow. That name is pretty similar to Buck Barrow, the older brother of Clyde Barrow. Clyde led the Barrow Gang, and was married to Bonnie. Yeah, that Bonnie and Clyde.