Blue Jays Top Pitching Prospect Continuing Impressive Form in Minor Leagues
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In the first round of the 2024 MLB draft, the Toronto Blue Jays selected pitcher Trey Yesavage out of East Carolina University with the No. 20 overall pick.
He didn’t pitch professionally in 2024 after the draft, but his potential was enough for him to land on top 100 prospect lists ahead of the 2025 campaign.
The early hype for him was not overblown, with him performing incredibly in his first taste of professional baseball, already moving up both the organizational and overall ranks as the calendar gets ready to flip to June.
Yesavage began the year at Single-A Dunedin, where he blew away the competition. He has not slowed down with his promotion to High-A Vancouver, where his production has improved in some facets and he is turning heads with fellow top prospect, Arjun Nimmala.
Trey Yesavage Has Been Dominating Blue Jays Lower Minor Leagues
“Yesavage ended his spell at Single-A Dunedin with double-digit strikeouts in three of his last five starts and has fanned 19 over eight frames in his first two outings with High-A Vancouver,” wrote Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Sam Dykstra of MLB.com in a piece highlighting the hottest pitching prospect for every team in baseball.
There is pressure on any player who is selected in the first round of the draft to hit the ground running and produce right away.
While some wilt, Yesavage has thrived, showcasing the elite talent that led the Blue Jays to select him in the first place.
Since moving to High-A, he has given up only three hits and two earned runs. The only blemish on his stat sheet is the walks, issuing six in only eight innings, for an ugly 6.8 BB/9 ratio.
His 21.4 K/9 ratio certainly offsets that, as 19 out of the 33 batters he has faced have gone down on strikes.
Walks haven’t been much of an issue for Yesavage throughout his career, so the lapse in control early on is likely just a blip on the radar. The strikeout stuff, however, seems to be legit, since he recorded at least a 12.4 K/9 every year throughout his collegiate career.
Toronto has to be excited about his future, with a promotion to Double-A potentially coming later this summer if he keeps up this level of play.
