TORONTO -- Trey Yesavage is waiting on the doorstep now.
Yesavage (MLB Pipeline's No. 49 overall prospect) has blown through the Minor Leagues this season, now touching all four full-season levels after opening in Single-A. He’s posted a combined 3.01 ERA with an incredible 134 strikeouts over 80 2/3 innings, good for a strikeout rate of 15.0 per nine innings. It’s easy to see why the Blue Jays could be tempted by the idea of Yesavage in their bullpen as they chase not only a postseason spot but the top spot in the American League and a bye through the Wild Card round.
Drafted just a year ago with the 20th pick in the first round, Yesavage has quickly become the face of the Blue Jays’ pitching development, which has undergone a major turnaround in 2025. This talent helped fuel Toronto’s big additions at the Trade Deadline, as the organization dealt Khal Stephen, Juaron Watts-Brown and Kendry Rojas, all of whom ranked in the Top 10 at the time, but what Yesavage has done stands above everyone. In an excellent year for this farm system, he’s been the brightest star.
It feels like the Blue Jays have nailed Yesavage’s workload through the first four-plus months, too. From late May through June and early July, they throttled down on Yesavage, often keeping him in the range of four innings and 70-75 pitches. That’s kept some gas in the tank for the stretch run, which was always the plan, but an interesting wrinkle came in his last start with Double-A New Hampshire.
Last Friday, Yesavage came out of the bullpen instead of starting. He ended up throwing a season-high 89 pitches, though, over five innings of nine-strikeout ball, but there’s a clear method to what the Blue Jays are doing here. They have one eye on rounding out this first full year of development for Yesavage, which has gone about as well as anyone could have hoped for. But there’s always one eye on that small chance Yesavage could help Toronto in 2025. Those odds still aren’t overwhelming by any means, but they keep growing and this move to Triple-A only builds some momentum.
Speaking just over a month ago, general manager Ross Atkins said that the Blue Jays remained focused on the 22-year-old’s development, but that the club was “... not closing doors on contributions from significant impact players in our system.”
At a certain point, if the Blue Jays are satisfied that Yesavage has enough workload left, this question becomes a simple one: Is Yesavage one of the 13 pitchers who gives this team the best chance to win? Remember, that number expands to 14 on September 1.
With each dominant performance and each promotion, that answer is getting closer and closer to “yes”.