October success leads to high expectations for Blue Jays rookie

There are a few reasons to be optimistic about Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage, months after his incredible performance in the 2025 World Series.

Yesavage, 22, enters his first full season in Major League Baseball with a likely spot in the Toronto starting rotation. The right-hander made his debut last season, making three starts and posting a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings during the regular season. That inning count is below the 50-inning minimum for rookie status, meaning Yesavage is starting his rookie season in 2026.

October success leads to high expectations for Blue Jays rookie

The 2024 first-round pick made two starts and three appearances in the World Series, posting a 2.84 ERA, a 0.947 WHIP and adding 17 strikeouts over 12.2 innings. That includes Yesavage's Game 5 performance, where he allowed one run over seven innings and struck out 12. Over the entire 2025 postseason, Yesavage posted three wins a 3.58 ERA and 1.048 WHIP over 27.2 innings with 39 strikeouts.

Needless to say, the secret is out: Yesavage is ready for the majors. Teams know he's out there, so it's reasonable to assume opponents will be better prepared to face Yesavage. He's not going to surprise anyone. Even so, the Blue Jays can be optimistic that Yesavage will continue to be successful on the mound. And that thought is backed up by a number of people around baseball.

MLB Network recently talked about Yesavage and the expectations for him in 2026. On MLB Tonight, hosts Robert Flores and Dan Plesac discussed Yesavage's 2025 season and how he delivered for the Blue Jays. They agreed Yesavage's success will be dependent on how he handles the adjustments other teams will make against him. "There's clearly a lot to like," Flores said.

Fangraphs is predicting Yesavage will finish 2026 with 26 starts and a 3.83 ERA over 140 innings, with a strikeout rate of 25.8 percent. Baseball Reference is predicting Yesavage will put up a 3.90 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP over just 67 innings. Toronto starters posted a 4.19 ERA, which was the 19th best in the majors last season.

Because of his rookie status, Yesavage is still appearing on prospects lists. MLB.com Pipeline has Yesavage as Toronto's number 1 prospect, and the number 12 prospect overall. Baseball America discussed the Blue Jays' top prospects in a podcast, with Yesavage topping that list as well. On that podcast, Geoff Pontes pointed out while there's a question if Yesavage can survive with his current assortment of three pitches, Yesavage has a track record of handling a large number of innings.

Because of his over-the-top delivery and high release point, Yesavage has an effective four-seam fastball and one of the best split-fingers in the majors, according to Pipeline. The fastball hovered from 93 to 96 mph, averaging around 94 to 95. Yesavage also has a slider in mixes in.

Yesavage is attempting to add a curveball to his repertoire of pitches. He told the Toronto Star he wants to add a glove side pitch, addressing another concern some may have with Yesavage. His control is likely the biggest area of worry, since he did walk 18 in his 41 innings in the regular season and postseason. A better selection of pitches could help with that, especially if Yesavage can hit both sides of the plate.

Another reason for optimism is that Yesavage has experience exceeding high expectations. His rapid rise through the Toronto farm system last season was an incredible surprise, even though there were MLB Draft experts who believed Yesavage would make it to the majors quickly. Of course, no one could've predicted he would make the majors just a year later, and no one could've predicted what Yesavage did in October.

There will likely be some highs and lows, but Yesavage has already shown he can surprise everyone, so why wouldn’t there be more surprises in store in 2026?