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Blue Jays Nation’s 2026 Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 22: Sam Shaw
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 19, 2026, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 19, 2026, 03:12 EST
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One of a few Canadian prospects in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system, Sam Shaw has some helium heading into the 2026 season.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s bi-annual prospect ranking, where we’ll look at the top 35 prospects in the system in the month of February. As always, I’ll look at the player’s stats, what other publications have to say, as well as my own observations of the players. If you missed the 23rd-ranked prospect, you can read about Josh Kasevich here.

Getting to know Sam Shaw…

Position: Second base/outfield
Bats: Left
Born: February 26th, 2005
Acquired: Ninth-round, 2023 draft
Previous ranking: 32nd
Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, the Blue Jays drafted Shaw in the ninth round of the 2023 draft, signing him to a bonus of $282,500 to pull him away from his Xavier commitment. A few weeks after the draft, Shaw made his professional debut with the Florida Complex League Blue Jays as an 18-year-old, walking 25% of the time in his 40 plate appearances.
Shaw’s first full season came with those same FCL Jays in 2024, as he slashed .220/.351/.304 with two home runs in 209 plate appearances. However, he earned a spot with the Dunedin Blue Jays to begin the 2025 season, where he slashed .253/.383/.418 with seven home runs in 274 plate appearances for a 129 wRC+.
Thanks to his strong performance in High-A, the 20-year-old was called up to the High-A Vancouver Canadians in July, but played in just seven games before a season-ending injury. He didn’t look great in those seven games, as he hit just .111 while his K% jumped up to 32.1%, the first time it even reached above 20%.
Still, it was a good showing for Shaw as he enters his aged-21 season this spring. Fangraphs ranked him as their 39th-best prospect heading into this season, noting his strong contact rates, lack of power (and projectability), and utility profile. 
On the flip side, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel is bullish on the Victoria native, ranking him not only as his sixth-best prospect (ahead of Juan Sanchez and Gage Stanifer), but his 167th-best prospect in baseball. In MLB Pipeline’s mid-season update, they had him right in the middle as their 19th-best Blue Jays prospect.
The next step for Shaw is developing some pop in his bat and finding a defensive home, whether that be in the outfield or at second base. If he can do that, he’ll jump up the rankings and potentially reach Double-A this season.
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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