Blue Jays begin adding to pitching depth as draft continues

Toronto targetted mostly pitching in rounds 4-10
Apr 26, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins speaks during a press conference before playing the Oakland Athletics at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Apr 26, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins speaks during a press conference before playing the Oakland Athletics at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays decided to double down on offense with their first two picks in the 2025 MLB draft. With the No. 8 and No. 81 overall selections (in rounds one and three respectively) the Blue Jays chose JoJo Parker and Jake Cook, two players with potential for high upsides in the hitting department. 

Rounds 4-20 began on Tuesday morning and the Blue Jays drafted four pitchers with their first seven picks on day two. Those include Micah Bucknam (fourth round, 112 overall), Dylan Watts (seventh round, 202 overall), Danny Thompson Jr. (eighth round, 232 overall) and Karson Ligon (ninth round, 262 overall). All three are four handed college pitchers who come in with varying degrees of success and pedigree. 

Blue Jays begin adding to pitching depth as draft continues

Bucknam was born in New Zealand but grew up in Canada and was labelled as one of the best Canadian prospects in the 2022 draft. He was taken in the 16th round by the Blue Jays, but turned down their offer to go to Louisiana State. According to MLB Pipeline, he has a slider that can reach 91 m.p.h., but sits around 85-88 with a low-80’s curveball and mid-90’s fastball. He also features a changeup but he’s struggled to throw that for strikes during his time at Dallas Baptist. He was ranked 131st in the pre-draft rankings. 

Watts has a big arm and throws a mid–to-upper-90’s fastball and mid-80’s slider. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 18th round of the 2023 draft. The knock on him is that he doesn’t have complete control and command of his stuff. Despite striking out 28 batters in 28 innings at Auburn this year, he had a 7.39 ERA in 17 games. 

With their next pick, the Blue Jays selected the 6’0” and 180lbs, Thompson Jr. out of UNC Greensboro. He led the team with 87 strikeouts and a 3.79 ERA, with 21 of his 23 appearances coming out of the bullpen. 

Ligon followed, making it three pitchers in a row that were taken by the Blue Jays. A 6’1” 210lb hurler who pitched for Mississippi State the past two years. He punched out 73 batters in just 56.2 innings pitched, but also walked 29 batters and had an ERA of 6.19 in 2025. 

The Blue Jays clearly had a philosophy of getting big arms with potential swing and miss stuff as they try to replenish their lower levels with pitching. Several of their top arms have moved through the system this year, including two players who were drafted just a year ago in Trey Yesavage and Khal Stephens moving up to Double-A. It’s been a long time since Toronto had a steady stream of pitchers who developed into useful big league players and combining this group with the crop of pitchers they drafted last year, they look to be headed in the right direction.

The three other picks within the first ten rounds consisted of two infielders and an outfielder. Canadian Third Baseman Tim Piasentin went in the fifth round (#143 overall), Eric Snow, a middle infielder out of Auburn, went in the sixth round (#172 overall) and outfielder Austin Smith out of the University of San Diego was taken in the tenth round (#292 overall). 

Piasentin is the second high school infielder drafted this year by Toronto and the second Canadian picked by the Blue Jays. Piasentin was the 160th ranked prospect going into the draft and at 6’3” and 200 pounds he has a commanding presence in the left side of the batters box and he’s shown that raw power is his best tool. He’s also got a plus arm at third base, but could end up moving to first if his range doesn’t improve. 

Snow is a teammate of Watts. The 5’8” 188lbs Junior played mostly short and second, while occasionally filling in at third for the Tigers where he hit .307/.403/.493 with 66 hits, including eight home runs in 57 games. He struck out 26 times, but walked 25 times.  

Rounding out the first ten rounds is Smith, the second outfielder chosen by the Blue Jays in 2025. In four years of college ball, Smith has hit .307/.404/.443 with 20 home runs, 160 RBIs and more walks than strikeouts with 102:93. He’s posted 236 hits in 213 games over that time.

This represents a mixed bag of tools for the Blue Jays. Piasentin comes in as a power threat, while Snow and Smith have higher upsides in the contact and plate discipline areas. There is speculation the Blue Jays could be dealing from their infield depth at the deadline and there is still the looming decision of Bo Bichette’s impending free agency weighing on their minds, so this makes sense for Toronto to go after multiple infielders, while taking a flyer on an outfielder as well.