Blue Jays draft prep shortstop JoJo Parker at No. 8 overall

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays’ ascendant farm system just added another top-end talent with shortstop JoJo Parker, their top pick at No. 8 overall in the 2025 MLB Draft.

This is the second time in three years the Blue Jays have gone to the prep shortstop ranks. Parker will join No. 1 prospect Arjun Nimmala near the top of the Blue Jays’ system, but there’s no such thing as too much young shortstop talent, and Parker comes with the offensive upside worthy of being a top 10 pick.

Parker brings a picturesque swing from the left side and some of the best contact ability in this Draft class, which immediately fits the Blue Jays’ trends in recent Draft classes. The organization has been working to add some thump to all of that contact, though, which we’re seeing right now at the Major League level, and Parker should grow into more of that power as his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame develops. He, like many of the Blue Jays’ teenage picks and international signings, should only benefit from a couple of years around the club’s new player development complex in Dunedin, Fla.

Leading up to the Draft, the Blue Jays had 14 members of their scouting staff view Parker in-person, even bringing in cross-checkers from different regions. By the time everyone huddled up, the scouts and analysts in the room agreed on one thing.

“This was one of the best, if not the best, hit-power combos with plate discipline, we felt, in the Draft,” said Marc Tramuta, the Blue Jays’ director of amateur scouting. “We couldn’t be more excited to get this type of what we think is a well-rounded offensive player. A shortstop who also, if needed, can play second base or third base, so he has versatility there, but we were really drawn to the offensive impact he could have.”

Defensively, Parker’s arm packs a punch as he spent some time on the mound through high school. Perhaps that gives Parker some potential at third base down the road and second base will eventually enter the conversation, as well, but he’s expected to get some run at shortstop in the early days of his development. This is why there’s no sense of “overlap” with Nimmala, another gifted young shortstop. You can never have too much talent at premium positions, especially when those players have the ability to play elsewhere.

Parker (MLB Pipeline's No. 9 Draft prospect) and his twin brother, Jacob (No. 109), were the top two prep prospects out of Mississippi this year and one of two sets of twins. They’re joined by Oklahoma right-handers Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon, ranked No. 10 and No. 121, respectively.

“We’re each other’s biggest fans, but also each other's biggest competitors,” Parker told MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. “So just having a shadow always by your side and doing something together, especially baseball, is one way we push each other and make out the best versions of ourselves.”

Parker has also spoken about the inspiration he and his brother take from their father, Joseph “Jop” Parker. Jop has been confined to a wheelchair since suffering a spinal injury in a football game as a teenager. Now, JoJo views his father, who is a successful lawyer in their hometown and has played a meaningful role in their young baseball careers, as “proof that you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Parker is still just 18, but it doesn’t sound like the Blue Jays will be slow-playing his development. Tramuta and his Draft staff have tried to work more closely with director of player development Joe Sclafani and his staff, with plans already in place for prospects so they can hit the ground running.

“When you’re evaluating nowadays without the short-season ballclubs, one of the questions we asked about high school hitters was, ‘Can they play in [Single-A] Dunedin in their first season?’” Tramuta said. “We definitely think this is one of those players in terms of talent and how advanced he is with his plate discipline.”

Now, Parker joins not only an organization that feels alive again at the big league level, but a farm system that is suddenly churning out development success stories and has big plans for him to be the next one.

Jake Cook, OF (Third Round, No. 81 overall)

• Bats/throws: L/L
• School: Southern Mississippi
• Calling Card: Cook is an extremely gifted athlete. His speed is near the top of this Draft class, but as a converted pitcher, his offensive approach and tools are still extremely raw. This is a fascinating, high-upside pick for the Blue Jays’ player development staff to swing big on.
• Quote: “He crushed the athletic testing at the combine. He’s one of the fastest runners in college baseball. Legit 80 [grade] runner, and yet no stolen-base aptitude. He swiped three bases in eight attempts this year, even though he was on all the time. He’s just very raw. It’s a plus arm, it’s an 80 runner, it’s a well above-average center fielder. He’s so raw.” – MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis