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How Trey Yesavage can earn the Blue Jays an additional draft pick in 2027
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Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Nov 27, 2025, 20:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 27, 2025, 20:06 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays have a starter with ace potential.
Everyone knows about Trey Yesavage. Drafted 20th overall in the 2024 draft, Yesavage made his professional debut in Single-A to begin the 2025 season. He had a rapid ascent up the minor league ladder and joined the Blue Jays rotation in mid-September.
After three solid starts in the regular season, accumulating 14 days of service time (keep this in mind), Yesavage had a historic debut in the postseason, striking out 11 in five and one-third hitless innings. In a pivotal Game 5 of the World Series, he struck out 12 Los Angeles Dodgers in seven innings of one-run ball.
With these performances, Yesavage put himself on the map as a must-watch pitcher and will be crucial for the Jays’ rotation in 2026. The best part? Yesavage has retained his rookie status, which is great news for the Blue Jays.
The Prospect Promotion Incentive pick was introduced in 2022 to make teams stop manipulating service time on top prospects. If a player is considered a top 100 prospect by two of ESPN, MLB Pipeline, or Baseball America and wins Rookie of the Year, the team will be eligible for a draft pick after the first round. 
It also applies to players who have played three or fewer years who finished top three in MVP or Cy Young voting. Bobby Witt Jr. earned the Kansas City Royals a pick after the first round thanks to finishing as a nominee for the 2024 American League MVP, while Paul Skenes won the National League Cy Young in 2025.
Yesavage has just 14 days of service time, as it doesn’t accrue in the playoffs. Players with over 60 days of service time are ineligible to earn their team a PPI pick. Another requirement is that the prospect has to rank in the top 100 on two of three sites, ESPN, MLB Pipeline, or Baseball America. He’ll surely rank high on those lists, thus making him eligible to earn the Jays a PPI pick.
It’s not out of the realm that he wins it either. In 2024, Luis Gil won the American League Rookie of the Year award with the New York Yankees thanks to a 3.50 ERA and 4.14 FIP in 151.2 innings pitched. Skenes, unsurprisingly, won the NL Rookie of the Year award, but he was called up late to earn the Pirates a pick that season.
That said, a pitcher winning Rookie of the Year doesn’t happen all that often. Devin Williams won it with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020. Shohei Ohtani won it with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, but that’s a whole other circumstance. The last time an American League pitcher won it before Gil was back in 2024, was Michael Fulmer in 2016.
Take, for example, Alek Manoah’s 2021 season. In 111.2 innings pitched, Manoah had a 3.22 ERA and 3.80 FIP, but finished just eighth in Rookie of the Year voting that season. A pitcher winning Rookie of the Year is easier said than done.
The good news is that even if Yesavage doesn’t win the 2026 Rookie of the Year award, he’ll still be eligible to earn the Blue Jays a PPI pick in the following two seasons, as long as he finishes third or higher in Cy Young or MVP voting.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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