The 2026 MLB Draft kicks off tomorrow, with the Toronto Blue Jays stepping to the plate with 19 picks to work with.

They don’t make their first selection until the 39th overall pick, which is the second pick in the second round, as a result of making the World Series and receiving a ten-pick penalty for exceeding the second surcharge threshold of the CBT. Toronto also loses its second-round pick and compensation pick after the fourth round (for Bo Bichette signing with the Mets) because of the Dylan Cease signing this winter. It’s a complicated mess because of the penalty and pick forfeitures, and the Jays will have $5.54 million to work with in bonus pool money (the second lowest of the group, ahead of only the Dodgers).

Industry pundits and analysts across the various baseball websites have been making mock drafts all summer long, and many have excluded the Jays because their first pick is out of the first round. However, a few have extended to pick #40 to include the Dodgers as well, and this is what the different sites have to say for Toronto and their #39 pick.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel has the Blue Jays pencilled in to select prep backstop Will Brick with their first pick of the draft.

Brick is ranked at #46 on MLB Pipeline’s latest draft rankings, and the right-handed hitting Tennessee product is the highest ranking prep catcher on the draft board. Standing 6-foot-2 at 18 years old, Brick reclassified from the 2027 draft class and has been making headlines over the past year.

He supported Team USA on their U18 squad and has improved his play behind the plate, sporting a sub-1.9 pop time with a strong arm that scouts think can stick behind the plate. During his final high school season, he won Tennessee’s Gatorade Player of the Year, posting a .526 average with nine doubles, five home runs, and 25 RBIs.

There will always be risks associated with catchers and their ability to stay behind the plate in pro baseball. The Jays did that with Max Pentecost in 2014 (and he was a college player), and he never found his footing in the Jays system, retiring in 2019. However, they did find success stories in J.P Arencibia (1st round, 2007 – college) and Danny Jansen (16th round, 2013 – high school) and also found success in international players with Alejandro Kirk and Gabriel Moreno, so there are more wins than losses for anybody keeping tally.

Brick has a commitment to Mississippi State in his back pocket, so he could turn to college if the right deal doesn’t come his way.

The fine folks at MLB Pipeline have tabbed outfielder Ty Head to the Blue Jays in their latest mock draft.

Batting from the left side, Head has spent the past two seasons at North Carolina State, working as an everyday player. Across both seasons, he posted a .283/.447/.481 slash line with 19 doubles, 18 home runs, 81 RBIs, and a .928 OPS. Head also stole 32 bases and walked 105 times compared to 51 strikeouts.

Last season, the 21-year-old led the squad with 14 home runs and started all 56 games in centre field, where he posted a clean fielding sheet and added two outfield assists. He was a Rawlings Gold Glove recipient and was named to the All-ACC Third Team for his efforts on the Wolfpack.

Scouts believe Head can stick in centre field with his plus speed and athleticism, and he impressed many with his strong walk rates. The bigger question will be if he can make contact and still hit for power at the next level against tougher pitchers.

Head is ranked at #60 on MLB Pipeline’s draft board.

Heading to Just Baseball, the masterminds behind the college side of the site have the Blue Jays going the pitching route with right-hander Jack Radel.

Radel has been a weekend starter for most of his three years at Notre Dame, and this past season he kicked things up a notch to become one of the Fighting Irish’s more dependable arms. Across 87.2 innings and 15 starts, he posted a 3.29 ERA with a 1.027 WHIP.

Radel also struck out 116 batters to the tune of an 11.9 K/9 and was controlling the strike zone well, posting a 2.3 BB/9. The South Dakota product earned multiple honours this past year, including Third Team All-American (D1 Baseball and Perfect Game), First Team All-ACC, and ABCA/Rawlings Midwest All-Region First Team honours, while earning two ACC Pitcher of the Week honours as well.

Ranked at #44, Radel works with a mid 90s fastball that touched 98 MPH this past year and works with a cutter that was one of his most chased pitches in his arsenal. He also boasts a curveball and a changeup to keep things interesting and saw almost double the amount of strikeouts in his junior campaign compared to his sophomore season.

Scouts tab Radel as a middle-of-the-rotation type arm – not the flashiest stuff, but he’s a workhorse who can generate the odd whiff here or there while giving you solid innings regularly. His stuff should play at the professional level, and the Jays’ pitching development has seen notable improvements over the past couple of seasons to support using a high pick on a pitcher like Radel.

It’s been a hot minute since the Jays selected a player from Notre Dame. Cavan Biggio (5th round – 2016) and Nick Podkul (7th round – 2018) are their lone picks from the South Bend, Indiana program since 2016.

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