Blue Jays top prospect continues quick climb up organizational ladder

It was just a few short weeks ago when Toronto Blue Jays fans got the exciting news that top pitching prospect Trey Yesavage was heading to High-A Vancouver. After that early-season promotion on May 16, the team's No. 2 MLB Pipeline prospect is on the move again.

As reported by MLB.com's Keegan Matheson on Monday afternoon, Yesavage is on his way to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. This latest promotion comes after just four starts with the Vancouver Canadians.

Trey Yesavage forces Blue Jays' hand with his dominant performance in High-A

It's fair to say that Yesavage's first season in professional baseball is going about as well as it could be. MLB Pipeline ranks Yesavage No. 67 overall, while Baseball America ranks him No. 89 in its Top 100. After dominating Single-A hitters over seven starts with the Dunedin Blue Jays to the tune of a 2.43 ERA and 0.81 WHIP with 55 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings, Yesavage looked even better against High-A competition. In his four starts in the Northwest League, the 21-year-old posted a 1.56 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 33 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings.

The Blue Jays seemingly had no choice but to move their 2024 first round pick up another level, even though it has been less than a year since they took him out of East Carolina. Now, Yesavage will put his high-strikeout arsenal to the test against upper-level competition in the Eastern League.

Following his most recent start on June 6, in which he struck out nine over five innings, Yesavage leads the minor leagues with 88 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings. The talented right-hander boasts the highest strikeout rate (44.9 percent) and strikeout-minus-walk rate (35.2 percent) among all minor league pitchers with a minimum of 50 innings pitched.

One note that fans should be aware of is that Yesavage has had some issues with walks. While he got that under control during his time in Single-A, he did issue 11 walks over his four starts in High-A. He did allow only one free pass in his last outing, however.

According to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi, Yesavage will make his first start for the Fisher Cats later this week. His starts will become appointment viewing for Blue Jays fans as he gets that much closer to the majors. It's still a stretch to think that he'll see MLB action this season, especially if the Blue Jays are in a playoff race like they hope to be — but stranger things have happened.