Grading the last 5 Toronto Blue Jays first-round picks 

2021 – P Gunnar Hoglund

Known for his electric strikeout ability, Gunnar Hoglund was actually predicted to be a solid top-ten pick among the 2021 draft class. However, an untimely injury to his pitching elbow that required Tommy John surgery ended his 2021 season early. As a result, many prospective teams stayed away from the promising prospect with concerns of his health. He ultimately fell into the laps of the Blue Jays at the 19th overall pick in the first round.

Hoglund would suffer the same fate as Martin though, as he became the centrepiece of a trade package going the other way to Oakland in exchange for star third baseman Matt Chapman. The only difference was that Hoglund didn’t end up seeing a single game of action in the Jays’ organization prior to being dealt, whereas Martin had 56 games under his belt such that they could gauge what they had in him. As of now, the gamble made by the Jays in dealing an unknown commodity in Hoglund may have paid off. He has yet to progress beyond the Double-A level despite now into his third minor league season with Oakland. Although, things may be starting to coming around for him this year, as he has posted a solid 9-4 record with a 2.88 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 84 strikeouts in 93.2 innings pitched.

Like Martin, Hoglund's grade is more dictated by the trade chip he turned himself into than the performances he gave to the Blue Jays organization. These two first-rounders turned into Jose Berrios and Matt Chapman, both of whom were positive contributors to the big league squad, which makes someone like Hoglund more valuable as a trade chip than anything else.

Grade: B-