Blue Jays Prospect's Surgery Leads to MLB Draft Slide but Has Immense Upside
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The Toronto Blue Jays had some clear goals heading into the 2025 MLB Draft they were looking to achieve.
Finding balance in their farm system, which leaned heavily toward pitching, was important, and they accomplished that feat despite not having many picks early in the draft.
With the No. 8 overall selection, they landed star prep shortstop JoJo Parker out of Purvis High School in Purvis, Miss. In the third round, with the 81st selection, they nabbed Jake Cook, and outfielder from the University of Southern Mississippi.
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The Blue Jays farm system has been reloaded with positional players, with Parker sliding in right behind Arjun Nimmala as the No. 2 prospect in the organizaiton, with Cook, Tim Piasentin and Blaine Bullard, their fifth and 12th round picks, just missing out on the top 10.
It was certainly encouraging to see Toronto address their need for more high-upside positional players, but it is a pitcher selected in the middle rounds that is garnering a lot of attention.
With their 11th round pick, No. 322 overall, the Blue Jays selected pitcher Jared Spencer out of the University of Texas.
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He had a strong season with the Longhorns after spending his first three collegiate campaigns with Indiana State.
Spencer made 10 starts, throwing 52.1 innings with a 3.27 ERA and 66 strikeouts.
An injury that required surgery derailed his pre-draft process and knocked him down the board, presenting a golden opportunity for Toronto to find incredible value.
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“Jared Spencer, who also just missed this list as a 2025 11th-round pick, is a potential rebound candidate as he had top 50-pick buzz before shoulder surgery,” wrote Kiley McDaniel of ESPN in a recent piece highlighting the updated rankings for each team's farm system.
Just missing out on a top-10 prospect list despite being selected in the 11th round and recovering from surgery speaks volumes to the upside that the Texas product possesses.
If the Blue Jays can get him back on track after his recovery, they look to have a dynamic prospect on their hands who was in the mix to be an early second-round pick before having a procedure done on his shoulder.
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