ESPN’s latest rankings show Blue Jays’ farm system already changing after draft

With the 2026 MLB Draft come and gone the Toronto Blue Jays have added several intriguing prospects into their system. At No. 39 overall they drafted left-handed pitch Cole Carlon out of Arizona State. At No. 131 overall they drafted high school catcher Will Brick out of CBHS in Tennessee.

Those two picks alone have caused a revamp to the Blue Jays' top-ten prospects on ESPN's board. Reporter Kiley McDaniel has inserted both Carlon and Brick onto that list with Carlon landing at No. 6 and Brick right behind him at No. 7. The fall out see's Blaine Bullard, Ricky Tiedemann and Jake Bloss all moving down a few spots. It McDaniel also moved shortstop prospect Juan Sanchez completely off the list.

The top three are unchanged with SS JoJo Parker, SS Arjun Nimmala and LHP Johnny King occupying the number one through three spots respectively. Number four may come in as a bit of a surprise with Nolan Perry, a right-handed pitcher, taking over that spot after previously being unranked.

But Perry's rise in the system coincides with his rise in the rankings as he has moved from Singe-A Dunedin up to Double-A New Hampshire this season. He spent all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the 22-year-old appears to be making up for lost time. He's started 12 games this season (13 appearances) and has posted a 13.99 K/9 rate with a 2.47 ERA and 2.83 FIP in 54.2 innings pitched. He also represented the Blue Jays at the MLB Futures Game as part of All-Star weekend, alongside Parker.

Carlon and Brick landing so high on the list speaks volumes about what the industry thinks of them. Several insiders believe that both guys are top-50 prospects coming out of the draft and that the Blue Jays set themselves up very well by nabbing both guys. To be able to draft two players who could be difference makers in a draft we're the Blue Jays were already feeling hand cuffed is a testament to much work the scouting staff put in ahead of the draft.

Blue Jays signing draft picks the next step

It's not enough to just draft these players but the Blue Jays also have to sign them afterwards. The Blue Jays have already done that with some of their later round picks. Gable Mitchell (No. 193 overall), Nolan Higgins (No. 164 overall), Jake Bennett (No. 252 overall), Joey Urban (No. 282 overall), and Bryce Chance (No. 312 overall) for under slot value, which saved them $1.3-million (before the Carlon deal).

That allowed them to sign Carlon under slot value as well for $2.4 million, saving the Blue Jays' about $170,000 on that slot pick alone. Brick still has to be signed (as of Jul. 18) but the Blue Jays believed on draft day that a deal could get done and with the way they have gone about their business in the week or so since shouldn't deter them from that thinking.

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