Blue Jays round out 2026 MLB draft by focusing on pitchers

Through the first ten rounds of the 2026 MLB Draft, the Toronto Blue Jays selected just two pitchers. They mainly focused on position players with specific skills. Whether that was infielders that were versatile and had high hit tools like Ryan Cooney and Gable Mitchell, or Outfielders with strong gloves and good bat-to-ball skills like Dean West and Bryce Chance.

But from rounds 11-20, only three position player were selected as the Blue Jays tried to add some volume to their pitching corps by nabbing the best arms they felt were available from picks 12-18.

Blue Jays reinforce their pitching corps with a beavy of college arms on Day 2

Beginning in the 12th round, the Blue Jays picked up Santiago Garcia, a left-handed pitcher out of LSU at No. 372 overall. He also pitched in a few games with Brewster of the Cape Cod League. The 21-year-old appeared in 21 games for LSU this season, all out of the bullpen. He threw 22.2 innings and struck out 35 hitters.

In the 13th round, (No. 402 overall) the Blue Jays selected Mathis Nayral a French born pitcher who played this past year at the University of Kansas. The 22-year-old right-hander was 4-3 in 18 games (17 starts) pitching to a 4.96 ERA. He struck out 71 hitters in 69 innings.

Right-handed pither Connor Kelley was taken in the 14th round (No. 432 overall). The 22-year-old pitched at the University of Texas at San Antonio. In 20 games (including five starts) Kelley pitched to a 2.98 ERA in 66.1 innings with 73 strikeouts.

In the 15th round it was another right-handed pitcher, Oliver de la Torre, taken No. 462 overall. The 21-year-old started 14 games for the Golden Bears this year, posting a 5-5 record with a 3.76 ERA. He threw 81.1 innings and struck out 72 batters while posting a 1.14 WHIP.

Carson Cormier from Illinois State was picked next in the 16th round (No. 492 overall). The 22-year-old right-hander is listed at six-foot-six and 235-pounds. He pitched in 16 games (including 10 starts) and struck out 74 batters in 69 innings while recording a 4-2 record and a 1.37 WHIP.

Another right-hander came in during the 17th round at No. 522 overall. The 22-year-old right-hander pitched for Mississippi State and in 24 games out of the bullpen he accumulated a 3.00 ERA and recorded 25 strikeouts in 24 innings.

Rounding out the string of pitchers, the Blue Jays selected left-hander Jake McCoy in the 18th round (No. 552 overall) out of South Carolina. The 21-year-old started 14 games and threw 60 innings and struck out 70 batters, but battled control issues by allowing 40 free passes. McCoy was ranked No. 152 on the MLB Pipeline pre-draft rankings.

Before and after all those pitchers, the Blue Jays picked up a couple of infielders and an outfielder. In the 11th round (No. 342) the Blue Jays picked up third baseman Brayden Martin from Maryland. The five-foot-ten, left-handed hitter also played in the outfield and some games at short and second. The 20-year-old hit .352/.488/.449 with two home runs and 56 walks compared to 20 strikeouts and 21 stolen bases in 56 games.

With their final picks the Blue Jays selected six-foot-three, 210 pound shortstop Cole Travers at No. 582nd overall out of St. John Neumann High School in the 19th round. Then in the 20th round, they grabbed Eddie Rosado Jr. with the 612th overall pick. He's a left-handed hitting outfielder from Holy Ghost Prep School in Pennsylvania.

The Blue Jays may not be able to sign any of those last three players and it does feel like they are taking a flyer since the last two are still in high school and McCoy was ranked way higher than where he was actually selected.

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