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MLB Draft: Did you know these players were drafted by the Blue Jays?

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The MLB Draft has historically been one of, if not the deepest, drafts in all of professional sports. Once expanding over 40 rounds, the MLB Draft is now a 20-round process with some additional picks thrown in towards the top end for teams in small markets.

Given the quantity, there are situations where players who are “hidden gems” in later rounds of the draft (see Kevin Kiermaier in Round 31 in 2010), or there are players are don’t end up signing with the team that drafted them only to re-enter the draft in the future. Current Blue Jays pitchers Eric Lauer and Chad Green were both drafted by the Blue Jays, but did not sign with them.

For this article, I ran through the draft history of the Toronto Blue Jays and found a few notable names that fans might have forgotten were drafted by them once upon a time. Can you imagine if some of the guys stuck around?

Aaron Nola – (2011: Round 22, Pick 679)

The Blue Jays selected Nola in the 22nd round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He had just come off an award-filled senior year of high school, winning the “Mr. Baseball” title for the state of Louisiana, as well as being voted the 2011 Class 5A Player of the Year.

Nola did not sign with the Blue Jays, however, and attended Louisiana State University for his collegiate years. During his three seasons there, he played alongside the likes of fellow major leaguers Kevin Gausman, Alex Bregman, and JaCoby Jones. The Tigers would make the College World Series in 2013, but they lost to eventual champion UCLA and North Carolina and were eliminated from the tournament.

Nola was drafted by the Phillies in 2014, and from there, that has been the only MLB team he has ever known. He’s currently in his 11th big league season, and although his career isn’t loaded with personal accolades, Nola has made his mark being one of the game’s most durable pitchers. Since 2017, Nola has made at least 32 starts in every season, save for the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. He’s racked up Cy Young votes in four different seasons, and he has been nominated to one All-Star game (2018). Furthermore, Nola has pitched six career complete games with four of those being shutouts, and he’s eclipsed the 200-inning mark in three different seasons. He fell two-thirds of an inning short of 200 last season.

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He’s currently battling a right ankle sprain that has landed him on the 60-day IL, which means his 32+ starts streak is all but over. Nola is currently in the second year of a seven-year contract that will keep him in Philadelphia through the 2030 season.

His older brother and current MLB catcher, Austin Nola, was also drafted in 2011 by the Blue Jays. Similar to Aaron, however, Austin did not sign and was drafted again in 2012 by the Miami Marlins.

Kris Bryant – (2010: Round 18, Pick 546)

In the same Blue Jays draft class that featured Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard, Toronto selected Bryant in the 18th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. Similar to Nola, Bryant had just concluded a stellar senior season at Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, being named an All-American across numerous platforms.

Bryant did not sign with the Blue Jays (in fact, he didn’t even hear from Toronto), and would play collegiate baseball at the University of San Diego, where he played alongside current/former major leaguers Dylan Covey, Casey Schmitt, and Connor Joe. After three seasons there, Bryant entered the MLB Draft again and was selected by the Chicago Cubs as the second overall pick in the 2013 draft.

He excelled in the minor leagues and would make his major league debut with the up-and-coming Cubs in April of 2015. He joined a talented young core of Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez, Kyle Schwarber, and Jorge Soler that was being managed by Joe Maddon in his first year with the club. Bryant would win the National League Rookie of the Year award that season after slashing .275/.369/.488 with 26 home runs and 99 RBIs, helping lead the Cubs to their first NLCS appearance since 2003.

Bryant’s path to stardom only went up from there as he won National League MVP in 2016, hitting 39 home runs, 102 RBIs, and scoring an NL-best 121 runs. More importantly, the Cubs won the World Series that season, with Bryant fielding the final and championship-clinching out of the exciting seven-game series.

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Bryant would play for the Cubs until the 2021 trade deadline, when he was dealt to the San Francisco Giants for a pair of prospects. The Giants would finish that season 107-55, just one game over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West division crown. However, the Giants would fall to the Dodgers in the NLDS just a matter of weeks later.

Since then, Bryant is notoriously known for the seven-year, $182 million contract which he signed with the Colorado Rockies in the spring of 2022. Currently in the fourth year of his deal, Bryant has struggled to stay healthy, and he’s accumulated a -1.6 bWAR, 17 homers, 61 RBIs, and a .695 OPS in 170 games with the Rockies.

Michael Young – (1997: Round 5, Pick 149)

Unlike the first two names in this article, Young played in Toronto’s minor league system at the very least. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1997 MLB Draft after playing collegiate ball at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Young would spend three seasons and some change in Toronto’s farm system, playing a total of 434 games between their low-A, single-A, high-A, and double-A affiliates. At that time, those teams were the St. Catherines Stompers, Hagerstown Suns, Dunedin Blue Jays, and the Tennessee Smokies, respectively. In mid-July of 2000, however, Young would be dealt to the Texas Rangers alongside relief pitcher Darwin Cubillán in exchange for starting pitcher Esteban Loaiza.

Albeit just two games, Young would debut with the Rangers later that season. He would go on to spend parts of 13 seasons total with them, making seven All-Star appearances and winning a Gold Glove award in 2008. Young also led all of baseball in hits in 2005 and 2011, with the former season featuring a MLB-best .331 batting average as well. Along with his knack for hitting, Young also became a very durable player, playing in at least 150 games in 10 of his 14 MLB seasons.

Young’s final season came in 2013 with the Phillies and Dodgers, and despite hitting .279/.335/.395 in 147 games that year, he would call it quits before the start of the 2014 season. He finished his career as the all-time hits (2,230), runs (1,085), doubles (415), triples (55), and games played (1,823) leader for the Texas Rangers, records that are still held to this day.

Brad Hawpe – (1997: Round 46, Pick 1,344)

In the same draft class as Young, the Blue Jays would select Texan lefty Brad Hawpe in the 46th round out of W.E. Boswell High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Hawpe elected not to sign with the Blue Jays and would play college baseball at LSU, where he would be a part of the school’s then-fifth College World Series championship in program history.

Hawpe would re-enter the draft following that title run and was selected much higher than he was a few years prior. The Rockies took him in the 11th round, and he would go on to spend six and a half years patrolling the outfield for them. Hawpe also made stops in Tampa Bay, San Diego and Los Angeles with the Angels, but he is more well-known for his time in Colorado.

During his time with the Rockies, Hawpe slashed .280/.374/.492 with an .866 OPS, 118 home runs, 464 RBIs, and 166 doubles. He currently ranks 11th in Rockies history in games played (816) and 16th in total hits (749). He had two seasons in which he received NL MVP votes, and he was named an All-Star in 2009 after posting a .320 batting average and a .973 OPS in the first half of that season. Hawpe was also a member of the 2007 Rockies club that made the first and only World Series in club history.

In 2020, former Blue Jay Kevin Pillar became the first Rockies player to wear #11 since Hawpe’s final game with them in 2010.

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Hawpe’s final major league season was in 2013 with the Angels, a team with which he signed a minor league deal. After logging only five hits in 17 games, Hawpe was released by the Angels, marking the final stop of his career.

Jeff Kent – (1989: Round 20, Pick 523)

Toronto drafted Jeff Kent in the 20th round of the 1989 draft, and he is the only player in this article to don a Jays jersey in their career. The Bellflower, California native would play 62 games with the Blue Jays in 1992, making the Opening Day roster and debuting during the sixth game of the season against the Orioles. Kent would replace Kelly Gruber at third base and hit a double in his first major league at-bat.

Kent hit .240 with a .767 OPS while playing multiple infield positions during his stint with the Blue Jays, but he was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for starting pitcher David Cone in late August. Aside from his first start with the Blue Jays, Cone was fabulous for the Blue Jays down the stretch, and he would help lead the Blue Jays to their first World Series title.

As for Kent, he would go on to have a very prosperous career across 17 total MLB seasons with the Blue Jays, Mets, Indians, Giants, Astros, and Dodgers. His most successful stretch of seasons was during his time with the Giants in the late-90s and early 2000s. Of course, that meant he got to play next to Barry Bonds, but he also made sure he received the notoriety he deserved. Three of his five All-Star nods would come while he was with the Giants, and he would also be named National League MVP in 2000 after slashing .334/.424/.596 with 33 home runs and 125 RBIs.

For his career, Kent recorded 2,461 hits, 377 home runs, 1,518 RBIs, and 560 doubles. His home run total ranks first in MLB history among second basemen, and he’s only the third at that position to hit more than 300. Despite spending 10 years on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, Kent never received enough votes to be inducted.