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Blue Jays Nation’s 2026 Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 27: Jared Spencer
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Photo credit: © Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 14, 2026, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 14, 2026, 07:57 EST
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After an hour break on the second day of the 2025 MLB draft, the Toronto Blue Jays figured they had enough money to draft and sign a handful of notable players in the final 10 rounds, including left-handed college pitcher Jared Spencer.
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 28th-ranked prospect, you can read about Riley Tirotta here.
Getting to know Jared Spencer…
Position: Starting pitcher
Throws: Left
Born: July 1st, 2003
Acquired: 11th-round, 2025 draft
Previous ranking: 30th
With money saved earlier in the draft, the Jays were able to draft Jared Spencer, who was expected to be selected in the first few rounds before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Spencer’s first three collegiate seasons were spent at Indiana State, posting a 5.63 ERA and 5.26 FIP in his freshman season, a 3.86 ERA and 3.90 FIP in 37.1 innings pitched in his sophomore season in 2023, and a 4.08 ERA and 3.54 FIP in 2024. His final season with Indiana State saw him start nine of 18 games, after spending the 2023 season as the Sycamores’ closer.
Drafted in the 14th round of the 2024 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, Spencer elected to transfer to the University of Texas at Austin for his senior season, a move that paid off well. The left-handed pitcher started all 10 games he appeared in, finishing the year with a 3.27 ERA and a 3.89 FIP in 52.1 innings pitched, with a 29.3 K% and 10.2 BB%. Unfortunately, he needed season-ending surgery in April, hence why he wasn’t picked as high as he was projected.
All he needed was for a team to figure out they had a little bit of extra savings, and that team came in the form of the Blue Jays, who drafted the 22-year-old lefty with the 322nd overall pick in the 11th round. The Jays went slightly above the slot value ($150,000) of the pick to sign him, agreeing to a bonus of $165,000.
Because of that injury, Spencer has yet to make his professional debut, but there’s a lot to like about the left-handed starter. Ranking as the 113th-best prospect in the 2025 draft, and immediately jumping to be the Blue Jays’ 23rd-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline’s mid-season update, Spencer has great stuff. 
His fastball velocity picked up to the mid-90s, with the lefty able to reach 98 mph and keep his velocity late into games. Velocity from the left side is always important (look no further than Ricky Tiedemann), but Spencer’s best pitch is a hard slider which is graded at 65 according to Pipeline. Spencer also has an above-average changeup that he started to throw more often in 2025.
Of course, there are some concerns. Last season’s shoulder injury wasn’t his first, as the lefty also injured his shoulder during the 2023 season, avoiding surgery that year. Additionally, Spencer has always had issues throwing strikes, with a walk rate of 12.1% for his entire collegiate career. Interestingly, his best walk rate was once he transitioned to a starter, posting a 10.2 BB% in 2025.
Assuming he’s ready for the 2026 season, it’s likely that Spencer will begin the season with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays. If not, a rehab assignment with the Florida Complex League Blue Jays could be in order.
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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