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Blue Jays: Lack of chase at the heart of Trey Yesavage’s recent rough outings
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ben Wrixon
Jun 15, 2026, 14:11 EDT
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It’s hard to believe that Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage is still a rookie, given how much he has already contributed to the organization.
His postseason heroics during last year’s World Series run are the stuff of legend—the world may never see something quite like that ever again. He’s shown flashes of recapturing that spectacular form since making his season debut in late April, but has allowed five or more earned runs in three of his last four starts. 
All pitchers have tough stretches; sometimes good hitting beats good pitching. The issue for Yesavage, however, is that the process hasn’t been great recently as he’s working himself into trouble by walking far too many batters. 
Yesavage issued six free passes in Friday night’s 8-5 win over the New York Yankees. He walked seven batters itwo starts before that Yankees outing against the Baltimore Orioles on May 30th, a game in which his defence bailed him out on several occasions. 
These shaky outings reflect a larger trend as Yesavage has walked at least two batters in seven of his nine starts so far this season. That’s never a recipe for success. 
The biggest challenge for Yesavage right now is getting hitters to swing at pitches out of the strike zone; his 29.6% chase rate ranks in just the 43rd percentile. He is throwing too many non-competitive pitches that hitters are recognizing as balls immediately out of his hand. 
Yesavage is also throwing first-pitch strikes just 57.6% of the time—the average for pitchers is approximately 61% this season. Falling behind early shifts the count leverage to the hitter, giving them the confidence to be more selective. 
So, with that in mind, the simplest way for Yesavage to generate more swings and misses could be getting ahead on the first pitch more often. Hitters will be less comfortable and more likely to swing at the pitches he wants them to chase rather than the other way around. 
The good news for Yesavage is that his expected ERA (3.14) and FIP (3.59) are both lower than his actual ERA of 3.78. He’s avoiding barrels and limiting hard contact. He’s not struggling because teams have all of a sudden started squaring him up. 
Yesavage just needs to recognize that he isn’t Blake Snell or his teammate Dylan Cease. They can nibble and get away with walking as many hitters as they do because they possess truly elite strikeout. He doesn’t have that consistently—yet—and needs to prioritize being more aggressive early in counts. That’s when he’ll be successful.
The whole baseball world knows what Yesavage is capable of at his best. Opposing teams have adjusted to be more disciplined against him; now it’s his turn to adjust back.

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