Blue Jays Sign Third-Round Speedster Jake Cook to Below-Slot Bonus

The Toronto Blue Jays have now signed the fastest player in the Major League Baseball draft.

The Blue Jays signed third-round pick Jake Cook on Saturday, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis. Touted as the fasted player in the entire draft, the collegiate star signed a $922,500 deal, which was slightly below the slot value for his selection, which was $993,900.

Cook was selected No. 81 overall. Every pick in the first 10 rounds of the draft has a slot value. In rounds 11-20, teams can sign picks for any amount. But anything below $150,000 doesn’t count against the teams’ draft bonus pool.

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Cook made waves at the MLB draft combine, thanks to his speed. But he batted .350 for Southern Miss and struck out just 7% of the time in 2025. The left-handed slugger was a second-team all-Sun Belt selection in 2025, with 13 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 32 RBI. He also led the team with 83 hits, and his strikeout rate was No. 26 in the country.

His signing came right after the Blue Jays made MLB history by signing their 12th round pick, Blaine Bullard, to the largest bonus ever given to a 12th round selection.

Bullard, who played at Klein (Texas) Cain High School, was taken No. 352 overall in the MLB draft. The Blue Jays were so high on him that they signed him to a $1.697 million bonus.

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His deal beat the previous mark of $1.575 million, which is what the Boston Red Sox paid Mike Rozier in 2004.

The Blue Jays now have their first three picks under contract. First-round selection, prep shortstop JoJo Parker, out of Purvis, Miss, signed a a deal worth $6.2 million, less than the expected slot value for the No. 8 overall selection, which was $6.813 million.

Toronto also doesn’t have a second-round pick after signing outfielder Anthony Santander in the offseason.

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Fourth-round pick Micah Bucknam signed a $678,300 deal, just under the $680,000 slot value for the No. 143 overall pick.

In addition, the Blue Jays signed two draft picks to $5,000 bonus deals to save slot money — eighth-round pick Danny Thompson Jr. and 10th round pick Austin Smith. Thompson is a pitcher and Smith is an outfielder. Both were collegiates that were out of eligibility.

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