The Toronto Blue Jays were long-known for their ability to produce pitching. Turn the clock back to 2015, and the likes of Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, and former Toronto prospect Noah Syndergaard were just a few players who came from that engine. Fast forward to today, and things are a little different. So, who have been the best MLB Draft picks made by the Blue Jays over the last decade? Here’s a look at the most productive, as well as ones that didn’t work out.
Best Blue Jays Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons
| Name | Position | Year Drafted | Round | Career bWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Hoffman | P | 2014 | 1 | 2.9 |
| Lane Thomas | OF | 2014 | 5 | 6.2 |
| Jordan Romano | P | 2014 | 10 | 7.7 |
| Bo Bichette | SS | 2016 | 2 | 17.5 |
| Cavan Biggio | 2B | 2016 | 5 | 7.0 |
| Josh Winckowski | P | 2016 | 15 | 1.9 |
| Davis Schneider | 3B | 2017 | 28 | 2.5 |
| Alek Manoah | P | 2019 | 1 | 7.5 |
The Blue Jays originally drafted Jeff Hoffman as a starter in 2024 after a strong college career at East Carolina. In his junior season, Hoffman struck out 72 over 67.1 IP. That, coupled with a good run in the Cape a year earlier, pushed the Jays to select Hoffman with the ninth overall pick.
As a Major League starter, Hoffman owned a career 5.64 ERA and opposing batters hit .861 off him. But as a reliever, he excelled. Hoffman struck out 45 over 44.2 IP out of the Reds bullpen in 2022 before becoming a stalwart of the Phillies’ relief core. The New York native became an All-Star in 2024.
Hoffman was one of several 2014 picks who turned into MLB regulars. Lane Thomas, traded for slot money in 2017 to the Cardinals, flourished with the Nationals. Then, there’s Jordan Romano. A native of Markham, Ontario, Romano developed into a trusted arm in 2020 and became the team’s closer in 2021. Romano netted 105 saves from 2021 through July 2024.
But arguably the biggest hit for the Jays over the last decade was Bo Bichette. Bichette, the son of Dante Bichette, raced up the Minors and debuted as a 21-year-old in 2019. Since then, Bichette led the AL in base hits twice and is a two-time AL All-Star.
Toronto also found some hidden gems. Josh Winckowski became a valuable arm for the Red Sox years after he was drafted in 2016. And, in the 28th round in 2017, Toronto took New Jersey high school product Davis Schneider. No drafted and signed player from the Jays’ 2017 Draft has a higher bWAR than Schneider.
Now, we move from the best Blue Jays draft picks to selections that didn’t hit for Toronto.
Worst Blue Jays Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons
| Name | Position | Year Drafted | Round | Career bWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Pentecost | C | 2014 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Jon Harris | P | 2015 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| T.J. Zeuch | P | 2016 | 1 | -0.6 |
| J.B. Woodman | OF | 2016 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Logan Warmoth | SS | 2017 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Jordan Groshans | SS | 2018 | 1 | -0.1 |
| Griffin Conine | OF | 2018 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Kendall Williams | P | 2019 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
While Toronto did hit with their first-round pick in 2019 with Alek Manoah, Toronto’s record in the early rounds of the MLB Draft the last decade is spotty.
Part of that was out of their hands. Catcher Max Pentecost was a fantastic college hitter and was inducted into the Cape Cod League Hall of Fame in 2023 after he hit .346/.424/.539 in that circuit a decade ago. But as we noted in our review of the 2014 MLB Draft, injuries took a toll on Pentecost, who retired five years ago.
A year later, Toronto took Jon Harris with their first-round pick. Harris capped out at Triple-A and last pitched in affiliated baseball in 2021. Interestingly enough, the Jays’ second-round pick in 2015 did become a solid big leaguer — just not in Toronto. Brady Singer opted not to go pro, and instead honor his commitment to the Florida Gators. Singer dominated there for three years before he was selected by Kansas City in the first round in 2018.
Toronto didn’t get much from the top of their draft in 2016. Nor in 2017, a year where the Jays had three of the top 61 picks. And, none of the three panned out as expected. Nate Pearson couldn’t turn into the ace many predicted, while their top pick, Logan Warmoth, hit .238/.337/.346 over his first 2,320 MiLB plate appearances. Warmoth is currently in the D-Backs organization.
Warmoth ($2,820,200 USD) was part of an expensive 2017 MLB Draft for Toronto. The Jays took Nate Pearson ($2,452,900 USD) with the 28th selection, six picks after Warmoth, and Hagen Danner in the second round. Danner, who received a $1.5M signing bonus, was originally signed as a catcher but hit just .191/.280/.353 over three MiLB seasons. He converted to a pitching role after 2019 and made his MLB debut in 2023.
The top of the 2018 MLB Draft also didn’t work out as expected. Although, the Jays turned Jordan Groshans into Anthony Bass and Zach Pop in 2022.
bWAR figures as of July 2024.