Blue Jays fans won't love first-round draft pick's low-ceiling MLB comp

The Toronto Blue Jays have come to an agreement with their first round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. JoJo Parker has officially signed for $6.2 million, which is below the slot value of $6.8 million. The No. 8 overall draft pick comes into the organization with an impressive pedigree for a young player, widely regarded as the best all-around HS hitter.

The 18-year old shortstop had an incredible high school career where he averaged .473 with 12 home runs, 12 doubles and 36 RBI in his three seasons at Pruvis, Miss. With the potential to hit 20-25 home runs at the MLB level, Parker has deepened the Blue Jays middle infield mix in the minor leagues, joining the likes of Orelvis Martinez, Chales McAdoo and Arjun Nimmala as players who could be future Blue Jays infielders.

Right now it feels like the sky is the limit for Parker and while we won't know the true outcome of this pick for years to come, one analyst has sparked some debate on what they feel is Parker's upside.

Blue Jays fans won't love first-round draft pick's low-ceiling MLB comp

Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report wrote that Parker's best player comp is former Blue Jay Kelly Johnson. While Kelly Johnson was a first round draft pick (No. 38 overall) in 2000 by the Atlanta Braves, Blue Jays fans are hoping that Parker has a lengthier and more impactful career than Johnson did.

Kelly wrote, "Let's say Parker winds up playing second base and hitting 20-25 home runs per season. That's a profile similar to what Kelly Johnson was at his peak with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The two are almost identical in size, as Johnson played at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds and Parker is listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds. Parker will probably hit for a higher average than Johnson did, though in his career-best 2010 season Johnson did hit .284. Parker will likely be a superior defender if he plays second than what Johnson was."

This isn't to say Johnson wasn't a useful big league player. In fact over his first four full seasons at the MLB level, Johnson produced a 10.4 bWAR with a slash line of .274/.355/.455 with 535 hits in 557 games, hitting 62 home runs and stealing 40 bases. That started at age 25 with the Atlanta Braves and carried through his age 28 season in 2010 with Arizona.

That 2010 season was Johnson's last really good year as a big leaguer. While he stuck around for six more seasons after that, he never hit over .270 again, never got on base at more than a .314 clip, and hit more than 20 home runs in a season just once.

And while his stats don't jump off the page with the kind of 'wow factor' you'd want out of a first round pick, Johnson turned into a versatile utility man between 2011-2016. With stops in seven different cities (Toronto, Tampa, New York Yankees, Boston, Baltimore, Atlanta, New York Mets) he played virtually everywhere on the diamond, including in the outfield and gave every team he played for an extremely useful option off the bench.

Still, the Blue Jays would love it if Parker could out play this comparison during his career and provide a steady, middle of the order presence at the big league level for a long time.