Two Blue Jays Crack MLB's "All-Debut" Team
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One might expect that a team that comes one out away from a World Series championship would return a veteran-laden team the following season. But while there was plenty of carryover from the Toronto Blue Jays' 2025 World Series run, the 2026 season has also seen the arrival of 15 new faces in Toronto.
With nine games still remaining, 15 players have already made their MLB debuts this season as Blue Jays. This group has ranged from former top prospects (Ricky Tiedemann) to journeyman minor leaguers (Rudy Martin Jr.) to instant fan favorites (Brett Bateman).
Toronto hasn't experienced a perfect success rate on those 15 players (apologies to Hayden Juenger and his 13.50 ERA through two appearances), but they've unearthed a number of productive big leaguers. In fact, both third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and reliever Spencer Miles were included on MLB.com's "All-Debut" team for 2026.
MLB.com Recognizes First Years of Okamoto & Miles
Okamoto isn't your typical MLB debutant. Signed to a four-year, $60 million contract after a prolific career in Japan, the 30-year-old "rookie" was expected to be a productive hitter right off the bat. And that's exactly what he's been.
Okamoto's biggest contribution to the Blue Jays has come via the long ball. His 33 home runs stands as a franchise rookie record and represents a whopping 22% of the club's total homers on the year, more than double the amount of any other player. He also ranks second on the team in games played (147), third in hits (126) and second in OPS (.774) among those with 200 or more plate appearances.
Okamoto could ideally get on base more (.310 on-base percentage) and could certainly stand to strike out less (175 strikeouts), but even in his first season in North America, he's managed to anchor a Blue Jays' offense that, at times this season, has desperately needed more of what the Japanese slugger brings.
While Okamoto was probably expected to reign supreme among newly debuting third basemen, Miles' inclusion on the list is more surprising - albeit certainly deserved.
Miles was a Rule 5 Draft pick-up out of the San Francisco Giants organization back in December, and hasn't looked back since. The 26-year-old has amassed a 6-2 record with a 2.65 ERA over 47 appearances while proving integral as a versatile innings eater who has been asked to both open and close out games, and has been a vital presence of the club's many bullpen days in the face of an injury-plagued rotation.
With Miles, who remains under team control through 2028, Toronto has managed to land a vital component of their bullpen who required no trade return and only earns $780,000 this season.
The MLB list, which includes breakout stars like Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox, Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers, and JJ Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals, highlights how strong this year's rookie crop has been across baseball. And yet, the Blue Jays aren't far off from having another player or two merit inclusion.
Bateman would likely be a shoo-in for one of the outfield spots had he debuted earlier and gotten more than 34 games under his belt. Meanwhile, new arrivals like Brandon Valenzuela and Charles McAdoo also made their case.
All told, Toronto got an exciting injection of new talent in 2026 that should serve them well into the future. And a potential 2027 crop, led by the likes of Nolan Perry, Gage Stanifer and maybe even JoJo Parker, looks pretty promising too.
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Ben Fisher is a long-time sportswriter and baseball lover, dating back to 2008, when he was a member of the media relations team for the Toronto Blue Jays. He has covered a wide range of sports for a seemingly endless array of publications, including The Canadian Press, Fansided and The Hockey Writers. When he isn't writing about sports, he can be found coaching his equally baseball-obsessed sons' Little League teams.