Blue Jays could have a Canadian fall into their laps at 2026 MLB draft due to CBT penalty

General manager Ross Atkins and the Toronto Blue Jays scouting staff will have to work a little bit harder to make sure they get the most out of the upcoming 2026 MLB Draft. They don't have a first round pick and they also are shut out of the competitive balance round A selection process as well. Thanks to the money the team has spent, the Blue Jays have received a 10-pick penalty going into this year's draft. Since they exceeded the second surcharge threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax they won't draft until 39th overall.

That's a ton of highly skilled prospects they could be missing out on, but that is the nature of the game the Blue Jays have to contend with if they want to spend money with the likes of the New York Yankees, LA Dodgers and New York Mets. But that doesn't mean they can't find quality at that part of the process and MLB.com's first mock draft of 2026 reveals the Blue Jays could be eyeing a Canadian player with their first pick.

MLB.com's mock draft has the Blue Jays selecting a Canadian left-handed pitcher

Sean Duncan may be a name Blue Jays fans want to keep an eye on. The left-handed pitcher is currently playing for Terry Fox SS in Port Coquitlam, B.C. The 6-foot-3, 180 pound 18-year-old is currently committed to Vanderbilt and features a true three-pitch mix with strong command for a teenager.

Duncan has been a part of the Canadian junior national team scene since he was 14-years-old. At that point he was sitting 88-89 mph with his fastball and has now taken a leap forward. He can hit up to 95 mph, typically sitting 93 while his secondary stuff is graded "above average."

You don't have to look to far to find the last pitcher the Blue Jays drafted with their first pick in the draft. In fact he just pitched on Saturday for the Blue Jays, and that was Trey Yesavage. However, the Blue Jays probably feel like they need to spend a bit more of their drafting capital on pitchers this years. While they had what looks to be a promising draft in 2024 as after Yesavage, they drafted Johnny King in the third round. Although the Blue Jays have already dealt their second round pick from that year, moving Khal Stephen at the deadline in exchange for Shane Bieber. The Blue Jays then followed up that draft with a position player heavy draft in 2025.

They selected JoJo Parker in the first round, then went with outfielder Jake Cook, third baseman Tim Piasentin, and shortstop Eric Snow before selecting RHP Dylan Watts in the seventh round. While the Blue Jays pitching prospect pipeline looks relatively strong at the moment, pitchers are so volatile and it's never a bad thing to have a stockpile of young arms in the system, plying their trade.

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