Trey Yesavage had a storybook season.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man roster review ahead of the new season. If you missed the most recent article, we looked at Addison Barger. In this article, we’ll look at Trey Yesavage.
Drafted 20th overall in the 2024 draft, Yesavage didn’t make his professional debut until the start of the 2025 season. With the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, Yesavage had a 2.43 ERA and 2.23 FIP in 33.1 innings pitched. High-A was no problem for the tall right-handed pitcher, authoring a 1.56 ERA and 3.04 FIP over 17.1 innings pitched.
The upper minors were a bit more of a challenge for the 22-year-old, as he had a 4.50 ERA and 2.62 FIP in 30 innings pitched with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Still, he earned a promotion to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, where he posted a 3.63 ERA and 2.40 FIP in 17.1 innings pitched. All told, Yesavage had a 3.12 ERA and 2.52 FIP in 98 minor league innings in 2025.
Yesavage had one of the highest strikeout rates in the minor leagues last season, finishing with a 41.1 K%, fourth in the leagues and the most for any pitcher with 50 innings of work. The 22-year-old had 160 strikeouts, seventh in the minor leagues and sandwiched between Blue Jay prospect Gage Stanifer and former Blue Jay prospect Juaron Watts-Brown.
It was no surprise that Yesavage was called up to the big leagues toward the end of the season. He made three starts, where he finished the year with a 3.21 ERA and 2.35 FIP in 14 innings pitched. Of course, he also made the Blue Jays’ postseason roster.
Yesavage made his mark in the postseason. In his first postseason start, and just his fourth big league start, Yesavage struck out 11 New York Yankees over five and one-third hitless outings in one of best postseason debuts in Major League Baseball history. Yesavage’s next start in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series didn’t go as well, but he struck out seven in five and two-thirds of two-run ball in a must-win Game 6.
The 22-year-old, who started the season in Single-A with no minor league experience, was named as the Jays’ Game 1 starter of the World Series. In an 11-4 victory, Yesavage went four innings, allowing two earned runs, three walks, and five strikeouts.
Five days later, Yesavage had another historic outing, as the right-handed pitcher struck out 12 Dodgers in seven innings of one run ball. It was the lone game of the postseason he didn’t surrender a walk. More importantly, it pushed the Blue Jays to within one game of winning the World Series.
We all know what happened next, but Yesavage appeared out of the bullpen in game seven, picking up the hold as he gave up a solo home run. Overall, he finished with a 3.58 ERA and 3.60 FIP in 27.2 postseason innings.
Thankfully, players don’t accumulate service time during the postseason, meaning that Yesavage has just 14 days of service time in his career. He’s considered a rookie, and since he ranks as a top 100 of both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline’s pre-season rankings, Yesavage can earn the Blue Jays a Prospect Promotion Incentive pick if he wins Rookie of the Year or finishes top three in MVP or Cy Young voting in the next three years. That hypothetical pick would come after the first round.
Fangraphs’ Steamer has him throwing 147 innings, making 24 starts in 34 appearances. Additionally, it projects Yesavage to finish the year with a 3.82 ERA and 3.86 FIP, with a 26 K% and 9.6 BB%.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.