It’s becoming quite clear that the second half of this draft is becoming pitcher-heavy draft for the Toronto Blue Jays. For the fourth consecutive pick, the Blue Jays went to the college pitcher well once again, drafting Oliver de la Torre with the 462nd overall pick.
Born on June 1st, 2005, de la Torre has spent his past three collegiate seasons with the University of California, Berkeley. He had a rough freshman season, finishing the season with a 9.31 ERA over 9.2 innings of work.
The 2025 season saw de la Torre serve as a bulk reliever, appearing in 14 games and starting seven of them, ending his season with a 5.01 ERA in 46.2 innings of work. Serving as a full-time starter in 2026, the 21-year-old had a 3.76 ERA and 4.91 FIP in 81.1 innings of work, with a 21.2 K% and 6.8 BB% over 14 starts.
According to D1Baseball on Twitter, de la Torre features a mid-90s fastball, paired with a changeup that finished the 2025 season with a 48.8 whiff rate.
The Blue Jays’ last three picks are right-handed pitchers that stand 6’4” or above, as both Mathis Nayral and Connor Kelley are 6’5”. On Saturday, they also selected Nolan Higgins, who stands at 6’4”, 215 lbs. The lone exception to the rule thus far is Santiago Garcia, who stands at just 6’0”.
Like all rounds 11-20, this draft pick has a slot value of $150,000. Anything under it won’t count towards the overall bonus pool, while anything over it will see the difference go towards the bonus pool.
Other draft picks…
