Blue Jays select Cole Carlon 39th overall
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Jul 11, 2026, 16:15 EDTUpdated: Jul 11, 2026, 16:58 EDT
On Saturday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays made their first selection at the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft.
With the 39th overall pick, the Blue Jays selected pitching prospect Cole Carlon, a 6’5” southpaw who spent the past three seasons at Arizona State University, right in his backyard of Tempe, Arizona.
Carlon went undrafted out of high school and appeared in 55 games over his first two seasons with the Sun Devils. All but two of those outings were in relief, but the 21-year-old had a chance to start in 2026. Overall, he finished with a 3.87 ERA and 4.30 FIP in 83.2 innings of work. Moreover, he had a 38 K% and 8.9 BB%, the second consecutive season he finished with a strikeout rate at or above 38%.
The lefty ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 26th-best draft eligible prospect and features a four-pitch mix. Carlon’s fastball is above-average, sitting in the mid-90s according to his scouting report, but reaching as high as 98 mph, and it was even noted on the broadcast he can reach 101 mph.
By far his best pitch is his slider, which Pipeline gives a 70-grade (plus plus). Carlon rounds out his repertoire with a 50-graded curveball and a fringe changeup that’ll need developing.
The Blue Jays have a type when it comes to tall, left-handed pitchers. In the third round of the 2021 draft, they selected 6’4” southpaw Ricky Tiedemann, followed 6’2” lefty Brandon Barriera with the 23rd overall pick. In 2024, the Jays selected 6’3” Johnny King, one of their best pitching prospects in the system.
It’s also the second time in the last four drafts that the Blue Jays have selected a collegiate pitcher, drafting Trey Yesavage with the 20th overall pick in 2024.
The Blue Jays’ next pick is the 103rd overall pick at the end of the third round. They forfeited their second and the pick they would’ve otherwise received for losing Bo Bichette by signing Dylan Cease. Moreover, their first pick used to select Carlon was pushed back 10 spots as they went over the second Competitive Balance Tax threshold.
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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