The Blue Jays are sending two of their fastest-rising names to the 2026 MLB Futures Game, and both JoJo Parker and Nolan Perry have put themselves on a real path toward Toronto.
Parker, a 19-year-old shortstop, has been one of the most productive young hitters in the system this season. In his first year after being taken in the first round of the 2025 MLB draft, he has already piled up nine home runs, 43 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and an .853 OPS.
Perry’s climb has been just as eye-catching, only from the mound. The 22-year-old opened the season with Single-A Dunedin, where he was teammates with Parker, and has already pushed his way to Double-A New Hampshire. Across 13 games, including 12 starts, at all three levels, he has logged a 13.99 K/9 rate over 54.2 innings with a 2.47 ERA and 2.72 FIP.
The Blue Jays announced both players as Futures Game representatives on July 1, and the organization’s depth chart makes the fit easy to see. For Perry, the route is especially straightforward: pitching is always in demand, and Toronto’s current situation only adds to that. If injuries and underperformance keep piling up, he could put himself in line for an MLB debut as soon as the end of this season, though certainly by some point in 2027.
Perry is already the No. 15 prospect in Toronto’s system, and his rise has drawn comparisons to another 22-year-old already on the big league roster, Trey Yesavage. Perry has actually been in the Blue Jays organization longer, since he was drafted in the 12th round of the 2022 draft. Yesavage’s trip from draft floor to the majors in just over a year has been unusual for the club, but Perry is showing the kind of stuff that can carry him there too.
The opportunity may be there soon. Toronto is expected to have several rotation openings next season, and only Dylan Cease and Yesavage are locked in for the 2027 rotation.
Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Patrick Corbin are pending free agents, while José Berrios, Bowden Francis and Cody Ponce are on the Injured List. Triple-A arms Jake Bloss, Lazaro Estrada, Chad Dallas and potentially Ricky Tiedemann are also in the mix, and Perry could be pushed into that group if he keeps dealing.
Parker’s timeline is farther out, but the roster picture lines up in a way that could work in his favor. He is projected to reach the majors in 2029, which would land near the end of Andrés Giménez’s current contract, though Giménez does have a club option for 2030, and Kazuma Okamoto’s as well.
By then, Giménez would be entering his age 30 season and Okamoto would be 33. Ernie Clement could also be on the market by that point, since his final year of arbitration is set for 2028.
That gives Parker a clean lane to a role when the time comes.
At the same time, the Blue Jays are not short on internal competition. Arjun Nimmala, the club’s No. 2 prospect, has moved into MLB’s top 50 and is expected to reach the majors a year earlier than Parker. Josh Kasevich also turned heads with a breakout spring training in 2026 and is pushing to make a case for a full-time big league role.
The Futures Game itself doesn’t promise anything beyond the moment. Nate Pearson is the reminder Toronto fans know well: he flashed elite velocity in the 2019 game in Cleveland, hitting 101.2 and 101.7 mph while striking out Gavin Lux and Joey Bart in an inning of work, but injuries and inconsistency followed for much of his Blue Jays tenure.
Parker and Perry still have plenty to prove. But right now, both are moving in the right direction, and Toronto can see the outlines of where each one fits.
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Blue Jays Prospect Nolan Perry Just Reached A Telling Test
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The rise has extra meaning because Perry is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery in late 2024, a setback that wiped out his entire 2025 season and made this his first full year back on the mound. MLB Pipeline currently has him ranked 15th in the organization, and the next stretch at Double-A will go a long way toward showing how far this comeback can carry him. [Read more 🡒]