Blue Jays’ scouting staff has to be thrilled with day one haul despite facing some challenges

The Toronto Blue Jays entered the 2026 MLB Draft with a tall task ahead of them. 

Their first pick of the day wasn’t until 39th overall as a consequence of their high spending over the last few seasons. They also didn’t have a second-round pick. Yet, despite all this, the organization has plenty of reasons to be optimistic in its selections with day one in the books.

Who did the Blue Jays draft on day one?

The first round of the 2026 MLB Draft got off to a frustrating start for the Blue Jays as they watched two of their American League East division rivals pick in the top seven. 

The Tampa Bay Rays—who currently occupy first place in the standings—took shortstop Grady Emerson second overall, and he looks like a future star primed to torment the Blue Jays for years. The Baltimore Orioles then selected outfielder Eric Booth Jr. a few picks later. 

When the Blue Jays finally did get to make a selection of their own at 39th overall, they took left-handed pitcher Cole Carlon out of Arizona State University. Pitching prospects are always volatile, but it’s hard not to love how he projects on paper at six-foot-five and 230 pounds with a mid-90s fastball. The upside is there if the organization can help him throw strikes more consistently, which is a common problem to solve. 

Their next pick was shortstop Ryan Cooney at 103rd, who is already drawing comparisons to Ernie Clement as a high-contact hitter. While it’s probably not fair to expect him to capture the hearts of Toronto fans like Clement has, it’s certainly an exciting proposition. 

The Blue Jays rounded out day one by selecting catcher Will Brick in the fourth round at 131st overall and organization is optimistic about signing him. 

Carlon appears as if he could be the biggest steal of the bunch. MLB Pipeline ranked him as their 26th-best prospect heading into the draft, yet the Blue Jays managed to snag him 13 spots lower than that. 

Hard-throwing southpaws currently rule MLB—Tarik Skubal, Cristopher Sanchez, Garret Crochet—and it’s been a long time since the Blue Jays drafted and developed one of their own. It will be fascinating to watch how Carlon grows into his body. 

Evaluations are more mixed on Cooney and Brick, as is to be expected beyond the top 100 players. MLB Pipeline had Cooney ranked 137th, for example, so only time will tell whether it was a reach. The Blue Jays have done well developing underappreciated prospects in recent years. 

Ultimately, it wound up being a promising first day of the 2026 MLB Draft, all things considered. Being a big spender who comes within two outs of winning a World Series is a recipe to pick late and infrequently, yet the Blue Jays took their slotting in stride and did the best with what they had. 

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