Blue Jays Select Right-Hander Spencer Miles in Rule 5 Draft

[Simon Li]

The Toronto Blue Jays have made a couple of surprising moves recently, including the very recent DFA of Yariel Rodríguez. This led to some speculation that they may select a player in today's Rule 5 draft.

Once again, the Jays surprised people, not only by making a selection, but because they selected a pitcher with only 14 2/3 IP in his minor league career.

Spencer Miles was a fourth-round pick for the San Francisco Giants in 2022, signing for a $347,500 bonus. He pitched 7 1/3 innings in 2022 before being sidelined for all of 2023. He once again threw 7 1/3 innings in 2024 before Tommy John surgery shelved him for all of 2025.

However, Miles did make a return to pitching in the Arizona Fall League this October. He showcased an impressive four-pitch mix with strong results in 8 2/3 IP, striking out over 30% of the batters he faced and walking only 2.7%. 

Graphic via @TJStats

Although Miles has a starter's arsenal, with a fastball, changeup, cutter and curveball, the Jays will definitely use him as a low-leverage reliever if he remains on the roster, as he has never pitched more than 10 innings in a professional season.

This is the second consecutive starting pitching prospect the Jays have selected in the Rule 5 draft that recently underwent Tommy John surgery. Angel Bastardo, last year's selection, will still need to be rostered on the 26-man for at least 90 continuous days in 2026, barring another injury. He was not able to burn off his Rule 5 clock in 2025. 

The Jays can also breathe a sigh of relief, as their unprotected prospects, such as Yohendrick Pinango (Jays Centre's No. 7 prospect), Yondrei Rojas, and Victor Arias (Jays Centre's No. 8 prospect), were all left unselected. Ricky Tiedemann, Jays Centre's No. 5 prospect, was the only Rule 5-eligible player the team protected ahead of the draft.

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[Pendleton]

Just saw that we grabbed Hedbert Perez in the minor league portion. Five years ago he looked like he was on his way to being an elite prospect