Aaron Nola
Another one that fell under the category of missed draft signings, this one hurt a lot more based on what Aaron Nola has turned out to be. Taken in the 22nd round by the Jays in the 2011 MLB Draft out of Catholic High School, Nola chose not to sign with Toronto as well to study at Louisiana State University. From there, the Philadelphia Phillies ended up selecting him in the first round, 7th overall, from the 2014 MLB Draft.
As the unofficial heir to Phillies’ stalwart Cole Hamels since his departure at the trade deadline in 2015, Nola has been a mainstay in their rotation ever since. Not only that, he had quickly risen to ace status with the club, along with being one of the top pitchers in the league on a yearly basis. The former All-Star was even an NL Cy Young finalist dating back to his best season in the majors in 2018.
For his career, Nola has amassed a 103-79 record with a 3.70 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, together with 421 walks and 1772 strikeouts in just 1616.1 innings pitched in 267 starts. More importantly, he can be counted on to produce in the biggest games, as he sports a career postseason record of 5-3 with a 3.70 ERA, 1.15 WHIP along with 50 strikeouts in 48.2 innings of work over nine playoff starts. With his reliability and consistency while averaging close to 200 innings per year, along with his long-time dedication and loyalty to the club, the Jays could have had perhaps the next Roy Halladay in their hands.