Way too early mock draft has Blue Jays picking former star football player

The MLB Draft Lottery took place on Tuesday night at the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida. A precursor to the 2026 Draft, which takes place on July 11 - over 200 days away. But it's never too early, apparently, to put together a mock draft this far out.

And so, with the order already set, the experts started making their predictions and those predictions led to the Blue Jays selecting a former football player with their first pick, slotted in the 39th spot.

Way too early mock draft has Blue Jays picking former football player

First of all, the Blue Jays aren't picking until 38 other picks have gone by as a "punishment" of sorts to exceeding the second competitive-balance tax threshold. As a result they get their pick moved down by 10 spots and they also won't have a second and a fifth round pick after signing Dylan Cease. Cease declined a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres and that's why the Blue Jays are giving up those draft spots.

So the Blue Jays will really have to do their research between now and July in order to find a diamond in the rough that late in the first round. MLB.com's Jim Callis believes that gem could be outfielder Blake Bowen, out of JSerra Catholic High School. Callis says, "A star wide receiver before giving up football, Bowen is a high school version of Strosnider."

That's Sawyer Strosnider, who Callis has being taken by the Los Angeles Angels with the No. 12 pick out of Texas Christian University. Callis says about Strosnider, "has one of the best combinations of size, athleticism and all-around tools available." That bodes well for Bowen, who is being mentioned as one of the top 15 high school prospects going into this year's draft, and quite possibly the best high school outfielder.

According to Baseball America, Bowen hit .344/.436/.516 in 38 games this past season with three home runs, a triple, five doubles and 11 walks with 22 strikeouts. The 6'3" 215lbs Bowen is also said to have explosive bat speed, big power and a rocket of an arm with some of his throws being clocked at 96 mph.

Bowen has been recruited by Oregon State and that always complicates things during negotiations after the draft. But the Blue Jays have had some success in this area recently, including signing their first round pick from 2025, shortstop JoJo Parker, to a $6.2 million signing bonus. If the Blue Jays want to keep going the high school route and draft players who have tons of raw skill, and lots of time to develop, then Bowen would fit that mold.