Forget Shohei Ohtani, the Blue Jays have their own two-way superstar
Photo credit: Blue Jays Muse – x.com
With one draft pick, the Blue Jays improved both their pitching and outfield depth.Meet Austin Smith, a tenth-round draft in 2025, who is set to become a star both on the mound and in the outfield for the Blue Jays in 2026.Selected out of the University of San Diego, Smith was a finalist for the John Olerud Two-way Player of the Year Award, named after Blue Jays legend and former college pitching standout John Olerud. Smith also received All-WCC First Team honours in both 2024 and 2025.Baseball runs in Smith’s family. His father Brian was a former farmhand of the Seattle Mariners who played independent ball after a few years in the minor leagues.
Smith played in 23 games for Dunedin last year, hitting .257. with two home runs and seven RBIs. While he didn’t take the mound and his time was limited to the outfield, the Blue Jays are interested in – and will likely – have him in on the mound in 2026.
Austin Smith (Blue Jays 2025 10th round pick) will both hit and pitch starting next season.
He was a two-way player at the University of San Diego.
Smith is not the first two-way player they have had in their system. Former prospect Hagen Danner was drafted as a catcher before converting to the mound and made his major league debut as a pitcher in 2023. He eventually ended up in Seattle.Sebastian Espino also made the switch from position player to pitcher, however neither of them were true two-way players in the same sense as Smith.
Smith likely still a few year away from the big leagues
Given that he was just drafted last summer and given his status as a two-way player and the fact that he has only reached Dunedin, Smith is likely still a couple of years away from the big leagues.
Still, the Jays have a strong development program and he should be an interesting prospect to watch over the next few seasons.
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