Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage is coming off a storybook first season in professional baseball that exceeded the high expectations placed on him as a 2024 first-round draft pick. He progressed through all four levels of the minor leagues and put himself in position for a late-season call-up to the majors, an unforgettable stretch run, and a postseason that captured the hearts of Jays fans worldwide. The 22-year-old started his pro career in Single-A Dunedin with a plan to move up to High-A Vancouver when the weather warmed up. Yesavage made seven appearances (all starts) with Dunedin, showing he was ready to progress. The 20th overall pick went 3-0 with a 2.43 and an eye-popping 55 strikeouts over 33 1/3 innings (14.9 K/9).
The right-hander’s next stop was with the Vancouver Canadians, and he continued to show that he belonged at a higher level. Yesavage made just four starts on the West Coast, striking out 33 batters over just 17 1/3 innings with a minuscule 1.56 ERA. From there, he progressed to Double-A New Hampshire, where he didn’t dominate as thoroughly as he did at the other levels, but still racked up 46 K’s across 30 frames with a 4.50 ERA. That was enough for the front office to move the top prospect to the highest level of the minors, the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
What Yesavage did there put him in the conversation to join the Blue Jays in September. Despite being more than six years younger than the average player in that league, the former East Carolina star was unflappable, recording 26 more strikeouts across 17 1/3 innings, posting a 3.63 ERA and putting himself in consideration for a promotion to the majors late in the season. He displayed an unorthodox, over-the-top delivery that baffled hitters and helped him amass an extraordinary K-rate. On September 15, Yesavage made his MLB debut and recommenced flashing his rare swing-and-miss stuff, scattering three hits and one earned run over five innings with nine strikeouts. He stumbled in his next outing, by allowing four earned runs in four innings, but bounced back with five solid innings in his final regular-season start, earning his first big-league win.
That set the stage for a magical postseason run that further endeared Yesavage to Jays fans. There was his no-hit, 11-strikeout tour de force against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS, followed by his infamous “I’m built for this!” quote during the post-game interview with Hazel Mae. He saved his best start for his last: a seven-inning, 12-K masterpiece that helped the Blue Jays win Game 5 of the World Series.
What projections are saying for Yesvage in 2026
Baseball Reference
Baseball Reference’s projection has Yesavage going 4-3 with a 3.90 ERA with 67 strikeouts across 67 innings. This innings-pitched limit is a bit fewer than other projection systems, but that’s due to BR’s use of the ‘Marcel the Monkey Forecasting System’, using recent baseball history for projections, with recent data being weighted more heavily.
For this projection,
Yesavage either becomes more of a bullpen arm or is limited in the rotation to roughly 10-15 starts in 2026. Considering he is likely a key rotation piece this season, and there is no indication the Jays will limit his innings, everything else might be more trustworthy.
Fangraphs DC/Steamer
Steamer has Yesavage making 24 starts, going 9-8 with a 3.82 ERA and 2.1 WAR in 147 innings pitched. He’d average 9.92 K/9 with a 26% strikeout rate, 3.66 BB/9, a .292 BABIP, and a 3.86 FIP. This model forecasts Yesavage making 24 of 32 possible starts and being a regular member of the rotation.
ATC/THE BAT/OOPSY
Looking at these additional Fangraphs projections together is interesting, as they offer some similarities and differences.
They all have the rookie making 24 starts, and ATC and THE BAT both predict 135 innings, while OOPSY is considerably higher at 149. OOPSY loves Yesavage’s strikeout potential with a projected 10.81 K/9. THE BAT is more conservative with 9.07, and ATC is in between at 9.87. The ERA stat is also a sliding scale, with OOPSY the lowest (3.48), followed by ATC (3.89) and THE BAt at 4.17.
Presented by Betway
