The Toronto Blue Jays may have just drafted the best offensive infielder in the entire 2025 draft class. With the No. 8 overall pick, Toronto selected JoJo Parker, a shortstop out of Purvis, High School in Mississippi.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound 18-year-old was widely regarded as the best shortstop in the state and took home the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year Award, being recognized as Mississippi's top player.
From the Baseball America scouting report on JoJo Parker: "He has a picturesque left-handed swing and a nose for the barrel. Parker has a case as one of the best pure hitters in the class, with real power to go with his polished hit tool."
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) July 13, 2025
Going into the draft the Blue Jays were said to be weighing the choice between selecting a college arm, or a high school shortstop. They decided to go with the latter choice on a player who scouts are saying has a chance to be a plus hitter with 20-25 home run power. He’s also a player who manages the strike zone well and has displayed a gap-to-gap approach with impressive exit velocity.
He hit .436 with 12 home runs in 37 games with Purvis during the 2025 season, and led them to the MHSAA 4A state title game.
Defensively he grades out as a future shortstop while his athleticism and arm strength could be good enough for the Blue Jays to move him to either second or third, depending on their organizational needs at the time. He entered the draft as the No. 9 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s draft board. His twin brother, outfielder Joseph Parker, is ranked at No. 109.
He’s the fourth shortstop drafted in the first round by Ross Atkins in what is his tenth draft as the Blue Jays General Manager, proceeding Logan Warmoth (2017, No. 22 overall), Jordan Groshans (2018, No. 12 overall), Austin Martin (2020, No. 5 overall) and Arjun Nimmala (2023, No. 20 overall). Out of those four shortstops, only one is still in the Blue Jays system (Nimmala) while none of them have yet to make any major impact at the MLB level. The other six picks by Atkins in the first round have all been pitchers.
The Blue Jays currently have eight infielders who are ranked among their top 30 prospects, but Parker already grades out as having a better upside than several of those players.