Blue Jays: History of the 202nd overall pick in the MLB Draft
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Jul 5, 2025, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 5, 2025, 06:02 EDT
They’ve never picked with this 202nd overall selection before, but have selected a few notable players in the seventh round. The most notable is Casey Blake, who played 13 seasons in his career. Blake posted 24.9 bWAR, playing with the Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Guardians. The third baseman had limited plate appearances in his Blue Jays career, but finally broke out after joining the Guardians in 2003.
Travis Bergen was the most recent seventh-round draftee selected by the Blue Jays who made the big leagues. It wasn’t a long career for the left-handed pitcher, just appearing in 22 games, but they traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Robbie Ray, who won the 2021 American League Cy Young. In 2005, the Blue Jays selected Robert Ray in the seventh round, a different player.
Eric Thames and Cris Carpenter are the two other notable players selected in the seventh round for the Blue Jays, while Austin Cates, Nick Goodwin, Peyton Williams, and Jaden Rudd remain in the team’s organization.
Notable players picked 202nd overall
There is also a player currently in the rotation picked 202nd overall, Kevin Gausman. In the 2010 draft, the Los Angeles Dodgers picked the Colorado native with the 202nd overall pick. Gausman elected to honour his commitment to Louisiana State University, a good decision as the Baltimore Orioles selected him fourth overall in the 2012 draft.
It took Guasman a while to figure it out in the big leagues, playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and Cincinnati Reds, before finding a home with the San Francisco Giants. In 2021, Gausman had a 2.81 ERA and 3 FIP in 192 innings pitched and signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the Blue Jays.
The right-handed pitcher is a two-time All-Star and was nominated for the Cy Young Award in 2023. With the Jays, he has a 3.56 ERA and 3.16 FIP in 639.2 innings pitched. For his career, Gausman has a 3.86 ERA and 3.63 FIP in 1,817 innings pitched.
Another player who played for the Blue Jays, at least in their minor league system, was Ryan Lavarnway in 2016. He is slashing .262/.357/.395 with six home runs with the Double-A Fisher Cats in 272 plate appearances. In his big league career, the catcher played for the Boston Red Sox, Orioles, Braves, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Reds, Miami Marlins, and Guardians. Overall, he posted a -1.1 bWAR, the lowest among any players selected 202nd overall.
There is one World Series champion selected 202nd overall. In the inaugural draft, the Houston Astros selected Gary Gentry with the 202nd overall pick. He didn’t sign and was later picked by the New York Mets in the third round of the 1967 Secondary Phase. Gentry won a World Series with the miracle Mets in 1969, and he accumulated 6.1 bWAR in his career.
The third-most bWAR from a player selected 202nd overall belongs to an active player who signed after being selected, Jose Caballero. Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks from Chipola College, he played three big league seasons, one with the Seattle Mariners in 2023 and two with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2024 and 2025. If Chipola College, a Junior College, sounds familiar, it’s where Russell Martin, Jose Bautista, and Bowden Francis played their collegiate baseball.
Seth Halvorsen is another active player, as he pitched in 34.2 innings with the Colorado Rockies in 2025. Other active players in affiliate ball are Bridger Holmes (2024) and Joe Hudson (2012).
Other players who have played in the big leagues are Wayne Tolleson (1978), Jeff Sellers (1982), Ron Wright (1994), Hudson, and Chad Bentz, who was picked by the Montreal Expos.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.