3 under-the-radar pitching prospects in 2026 MLB Draft that are right up the Blue Jays' alley

During Ross Atkins' tenure as the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, his track record at the MLB draft hasn't been anything to boast about when it comes to pitching. Only three starting pitchers that he has drafted in the 10 drafts he has helmed have made it to the big leagues with any kind of success - and success is a very relative term when looking at those players; Alek Manoah, Nate Pearson and Trey Yesavage.

However, the Blue Jays are currently developing a decent pitching pipeline after the last three year's worth of drafts. Three of their top five prospects are all pitchers; Johnny King (No. 3), Ricky Tiedemann (No. 4) and Gage Stanifer (No. 5). 13 other pitchers are on the list and that bodes well for a team that is looking to upgrade their major league pitching come the trade deadline.

That means they have assets from which to deal with. It also means they've got pieces who could be a part of future rotations should their developments continue on an upward trajectory. But as they've seen at the MLB level this year, you can never have enough pitching depth and that's why pitching will likely be a priority at the MLB draft for the Blue Jays this year as well.

Last year, they chose pitchers with eight of the 20 picks they had. A year earlier, they used 11 picks to draft pitchers, including their first three choices when they drafted Yesavage (first-round No. 20 overall), Khal Stephen (second-round, No. 59 overall) and King (third-round, No. 95 overall). They also selected ten pitchers in 2023 and 13 pitchers in 2022. So it's safe to assume that after only getting eight pitchers last year, they'll likely go pitcher heavy again in 2026, and there could be some under the radar pitchers available to them when they get to the 39th pick.

Blue Jays could make pitching a priority at the Draft and they would have a decent group of players to choose from

Toronto doesn't make their first selection until 39th thanks to a ten-pick penalty induced on them for going over the luxury tax threshold. However, there could be some intriguing arms available at that number.

Logan Schmidt is a left-handed pitcher who is currently committed to Louisiana State. The 6-foot-4, 210 lbs southpaw is pitching in high school in California and was ranked behind some other pitchers thanks to a slow start this season. But he's also shown out at events like the Area Code Games and the MLB All-American Game. He was hitting 94-97 mph with his fastball in those events, and he also featured a 78-81 mph slider.

Schmidt will only be 17-years-old by the time the draft arrives and the knock on his fastball is that there isn't a lot of deception. That, plus his committment to LSU could help him fall down the draft board and right into the Blue Jays' laps.

Jack Radel was one of the top high school pitchers going into the 2024 draft, but his strong commitment to Notre Dame scared off any potential team trying to take him that year. He joined the Fighting Irish and over the last three seasons he has improved every year, posting a 3.29 ERA in 87.2 innings pitched with 116 strikeouts and a 1.027 WHIP in 15 starts this past year.

Radel has a fastball that sits 93-95 mph but can touch 98. He also features a mid-80s slider and a cutter that reaches the upper 80s. He can also mix in a curveball that hist the 78-82 mph range and generally throws that for strikes. Lastly, he'll toss in a changeup that can fade and sink in against left-handers particularly effectively - sitting upper-80s with that pitch. It's a five pitch mix that played well at the college level, and the Blue Jays seem to like drafting these pitchers who have several tools they can work with.

There's also Jensen Hirschkorn who will be hard to overlook - literally. The 6-foot-7 right-hander from Northern California is also committed to LSU but after a strong ending to the summer, he could have many teams trying to get him to break that commitment. He doesn't have as many tools as Radel, but throws gas, hitting 95-96 mph with his fastball with relative ease. Because of his size, and at 205 lbs, it's easy to see Hirschkorn growing out that arm and hitting triple digits on the radar gun with the right development plan.

His other pitchers are a low-80s slider and a mid-80s changeup. The slider was used to get a lot of chase while the changeup wasn't used a lot, but could be a weapon in the waiting. He also played basketball at a high level which showed off his athleticism, something that scouts really like to see in their pitchers more and more in the earlier rounds.

With the Blue Jays having such a late pick in the first round, they'll need to do their due dilligence in even more to make sure they hit on this pick. But these are three arms that feel like they can be just about sure bets if they aren't snatched up sooner in the draft.

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