Trey Yesavage: Up-And-Coming Dynasty Player

At this point of the season, making adds to your roster is likely not allowed as your fantasy season is over or the playoffs are just concluding.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t look ahead and wonder who you should target this offseason. One of those players who should have a very large target is Trey Yesavage of the Toronto Blue Jays.

This is a player who was only drafted just over a year ago and entered 2025 having never thrown one pitch as a professional player. Today, he could be a key member of the Toronto staff during the postseason.

So let’s take a few minutes to discuss up-and-coming dynasty player Trey Yesavage.

Career Statistics

Road to the Show

The climb to the majors has been swift for Trey Yesavage, as he was pitching in college for East Carolina last year and only began his professional career this year.

During his three-year NCAA career, Yesavage appeared in 65 games and made 29 starts with an overall ERA of 2.58 and a WHIP of 1.034. His first season as a freshman was spent coming out of the pen as he appeared in 34 games and had a 4.50 ERA and 1.731 WHIP. Not great numbers, but he also had a 15.6 K/9 rate – a glimpse of what was to come.

As a sophomore, he transitioned to the starting rotation, making 14 starts in 16 appearances. The move was a good one as he went 7-1 with a 2.61 ERA and 1.000 WHIP while striking out 12.4 batters per nine. His junior season was just as good as he went 11-1 with a 2.03 ERA, 0.868 WHIP, and a 14.0 K/9 rate. Those results led the Blue Jays to select Yesavage with the 20th overall pick in last year’s draft.

Wasting No Time

After signing with the Jays last year, Yesavage was not assigned to the rookie level team, so he didn’t start his pro career until this season.

Starting at Low-A Dunedin, he went 3–0 with a 2.43 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings in seven starts. The Blue Jays then promoted him to High-A Vancouver. In four starts covering 17.1 innings, Yesavage posted a 1.56 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. Another promotion followed, landing him in Double-A New Hampshire.

The results there were not as gaudy as he posted a 4.50 ERA, but he did strike out 46 batters in 30 innings of work. After eight games (seven starts), he was promoted again, moving up to Triple-A Buffalo. As was the case at his previous stops, Yesavage continued to strike out hitters, this time to the tune of 13.5 per nine innings as he had 26 strikeouts in 17.1 innings to go with a 3.63 ERA. He made four starts and two relief appearances before Toronto decided to bring him up to the parent club.

Heck of a Debut

The lanky right-hander made his major league debut on Sept. 15, and what a debut it was as he struck out nine batters in his five innings of work. The nine strikeouts set a Blue Jays record for a pitcher making his debut, surpassing the eight strikeouts Trent Thornton had in 2019.

Trey Yesavage allowed only one run on three hits and two walks. Making the start even more impressive was the 19 swinging strikes he recorded, tying him for the fifth most swings-and-misses in a single game since the start of the Statcast Era in 2008.

The Tools

• 4-Seam Fastball (46% usage)

In his start against Tampa Bay, Yesavage featured his four-seam fastball nearly half the time, and while he didn’t overwhelm the Rays with the pitch, it was effective as Tampa Bay collected only two hits against the pitch, both being singles. The pitch averaged 94.6 mph, which is consistent with what he has thrown throughout his career. On average, the 4-seamer moved four inches into a right-handed batter with a drop of 11 inches. For comparison, the league average is eight inches of horizontal movement and 15 inches of drop.

He may not have as much horizontal movement as the average pitcher, but the fact that he gets less drop makes it hard for batters to get on top of the ball and drive it.

Going forward, his 4-seamer should be effective. Standing at 6-foot-4, he has a high release point and good backspin on the ball, allowing him to keep the pitch up in the zone. If there is one red flag when it comes to the fastball, it is the fact he does not have great command of the pitch yet (or all of his pitches). During his time in the minors this year, his walk rate was at 13% and jumped to 28% when he reached Triple-A.

• Split-Finger (28% usage)

While Yesavage threw his fastball 32 times in that first start, he also has two other pitches he features – the splitter and the slider. Against the Rays, he threw the split-finger 19 times overall, 13 against left-handed hitters. The Rays were unable to get a hit against the pitch, and it produced an astounding 78.6% Whiff%. I will repeat that – it produced an astounding 78.6% Whiff%.

The Rays went 0-for-6 against his splitter with five strikeouts.

Thrown at an average speed of 84 mph, it acts as a great change-of-pace pitch off the fastball while offering nearly 11 inches of horizontal break and 32 inches of vertical drop. Despite the movement of the pitch, he actually does a good job of throwing for strikes when needed, as he threw in the zone 42% of the time in his first start.

• Slider (26% usage)

The slider, like his fastball and splitter, was graded at 60 by scouts, and the pitch proved to be a good one against the Rays. Batters went 1-for-6 against the slider with three strikeouts while having a 44.4% Whiff%.

What makes his slider interesting is that it has more of a downward break instead of a sharp break to his glove side. In a way, it is like his split on steroids as it comes in 5 mph faster.

• The Curve and Cutter

In the past, Trey Yesavage has thrown a cutter and curve; he ditched the cutter in Triple-A and did not feature it in his first outing. The curve may be used as he starts to face more and more batters, but overall, it is his least effective pitch.

The Verdict

I was able to add Trey Yesavage in two of my leagues before the season, and I am glad that I did. I did not expect him to fly through the Blue Jays’ system and make his MLB debut this year, but I fully expected him to be in the majors by next season at some point after a dominant college career.

Yesavage took advantage of his time at East Carolina to develop his pitches and learn how to mix them effectively and not just rely on his fastball to get outs. He has battled command issues during his time in the minors, but he seemed to quickly solve the problem and get back to throwing strikes.

He also produces his fair share of ground balls thanks to the slider and split. The Rays put into play and overall had a 55.6% ground ball percentage, while it was 39.9% during his time in the minors.

Right now, the Blue Jays are up in the air about how they will use Yesavage. His next outing could be as a starter, it could be as a reliever. But for 2026 and beyond, he is going to be a starter, and you should plan to try to add him to your staff. He will, without a doub,t hit some bumps as hitters get a better book on Yesavage, but his upside is amazing.

Thanks for reading, and come back again next week for the final 2025 installment of Up-and-Coming Dynasty Players.