Having emphatically announced himself with a debut for the ages, Trey Yesavage is now bracing for his follow-up with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Manager John Schneider said on Wednesday the club is “still sorting through” its rotation plans for the weekend, but made it clear that a Yesavage start is “for sure under consideration,” per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
He went on to confirm that Yesavage will take the mound during the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals.
“He’ll be pitching in KC,” Schneider said. “Just don’t know if it’s going to be starting or coming out of the ’pen.”
The 22-year-old right-hander, selected 20th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft out of East Carolina, made his major league debut on Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays and produced one of the most imposing first outings in franchise history.
Yesavage struck out nine batters across five innings, breaking Trent Thornton’s Blue Jays debut record of eight set in 2019. He allowed just one run on three hits and two walks, leaving with a 1–0 deficit before Toronto rallied for a 2–1 extra-innings victory. The rookie’s performance was also notable on a league-wide scale. His 19 swinging strikes tied for the fifth most in a single game since the Statcast Era began in 2008. Only Jared Jones (22), Johnny Cueto (21), Shota Imanaga (20), and Alex Colome (20) recorded more in their debuts, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
Yesavage nearly achieved an immaculate inning in the fourth, striking out Josh Lowe and Jake Magnum on three pitches each before home plate umpire Laz Diaz missed a borderline strike to Nick Fortes. He regrouped to finish the frame with another strikeout on just 10 pitches.
The debut epitomized a rapid climb through Toronto’s farm system in 2025. Starting at Low-A Dunedin, he went 3–0 with a 2.43 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. He then advanced to High-A Vancouver, where he posted a 1.56 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. A promotion to Double-A New Hampshire followed, where he struck out 46 batters across 30 innings. By August, Yesavage was pitching in Triple-A Buffalo, striking out 26 in 17 1/3 innings with a 3.63 ERA. In total, he finished his minor league campaign with a 3.12 ERA and 160 strikeouts across four levels before his call-up to Toronto.
In light of Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt handling the final games against Tampa Bay, Yesavage joins Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber, and Jose Berrios as options for Kansas City. The Royals series closes out a demanding stretch of 13 games in 13 days before Toronto returns home for six games against the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.
Given Boston’s playoff push, the Blue Jays may consider holding Yesavage back from facing the Red Sox to keep him fresh for a potential postseason matchup.