The Blue Jays may have found real thunder in the eighth round.
Jake Bennett, Toronto’s 252nd overall pick out of Dallas Baptist University, has wasted no time turning his pro debut into a loud one. In his first 12 games with Single-A Dunedin, the right-handed hitter has already piled up four home runs, 14 RBIs and a .940 OPS. That start includes a game where he smashed his first two professional homers, one of them a grand slam, in a six-RBI night for the Dunedin Blue Jays.
For a player selected because of his offensive upside, that’s about as strong a first impression as Toronto could have asked for. His overall line through 48 plate appearances sits at .244/.354/.585, but the bigger story is the damage he’s doing when he connects. Six of his first 10 hits have gone for extra bases, and his .632 slugging percentage points to plenty of authority in the bat.
Bennett’s college track record gave scouts plenty to dream on. At DBU, he hit .346 with 19 home runs, a .475 on-base percentage and a 1.251 OPS.
That production earned him Third Team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, First Team All-Conference USA recognition and ABCA All-Central Region honors. DBU also said he reached base in 40 of 43 games and put together a 43-game on-base streak dating back to April 2025.
The power is obvious. The bigger question is where he fits defensively.
Bennett was drafted as a catcher and is still listed there by MiLB, but even at draft time there was an expectation that his path could lead him to first base or designated hitter. At 6-foot-2 and 231 pounds, with the kind of raw pop that led Conference USA in home runs, Toronto doesn’t need him to be a polished defensive fit right away. The organization also already has catching depth in the system and at the big-league level.
The Blue Jays drafted Will Brick earlier in this draft, and Brick was viewed as possibly the best high school catcher available. Toronto also has Alejandro Kirk and Brandon Valenzuela in the majors.
There’s still work ahead for Bennett. He has struck out 20 times in his first 41 at-bats, so the adjustment to pro pitching is very much in progress. But even with that swing-and-miss, he has already done enough damage to make Single-A look like a stop he may not be in for long.
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From there, the schedule settles down a bit with Dylan Cease lined up for Saturday and Jos Soriano on Sunday, giving Toronto a more traditional look after the opener. Even so, the approach underscores how carefully the Blue Jays have to manage every arm while they try to keep pace in a race where each matchup can shift the playoff picture. [Read more 🡒]