Draft expert believes Blue Jays first-rounder could be on "fast track" to MLB

The Blue Jays' selection of Trey Yesavage has earned some praise from around the baseball world, including one MLB.com draft expert who believes the first-rounder could be on the fast track to the major leagues.

Jim Callis, a senior writer with MLB.com's MLB Pipeline, listed the right-hander among his picks of draftees that likely won't need much time in the minors before reaching the majors. Callis called Yesavage "the clear third" best pitcher in the draft behind Chase Burns (drafted 2nd overall by the Cincinnati Reds) and Hagen Smith (taken 5th overall by the Chicago White Sox).

As evidence, Callis noted Yesavage's three main pitches (fastball, slider/cutter, splitter) and his top five finish among NCAA Division I pitchers in ERA (2.02), strikeouts (145), and opponent average (.154). Also, after recovering from a partially collapsed lung this spring, Yesavage outdueled number 2 overall pick Burns in the NCAA Regionals. Yesavage allowed one hit and one run over 7.1 innings as his East Carolina Pirates won 7-6 over Burns' Wake Forest Demon Deacons, a team that was ranked number 1 in the country at the start of the year.

Callis wasn't alone in his analysis of the Yesavage pick. Steve Phillips of TSN said he heard from a few scouts who thought Yesavage was the best pitcher in the draft. The Athletic called him "the most polished starter in the class." Keith Law has Yesavage ranked number 13 among draft prospects.

Baseball America called Yesavage "the biggest faller" of the first day of the 2024 MLB Draft. He was ranked number 11 in Baseball America's Top 500 draft rankings, and was expected to be taken between 10th and 15th overall in the first round. Instead, Toronto took Yesavage 20th overall.

And no one should be happier about Yesavage's tumble than the Toronto Blue Jays, Baseball America said.

If Yesavage was to make it to the major leagues quickly, that would be a big win for the Blue Jays. Toronto hasn't drafted well over the past few seasons, and as a result, homegrown talent has been hard to find. The Blue Jays have only one player drafted since 2015 with a positive WAR (Alek Manoah, 7.5) and only four of the last 10 first round picks are still with the organization (Manoah, Nate Pearson, Brandon Barriera, and Arjun Nimmala).

Currently, the Blue Jays are dealing with a pitching depth crisis, too. With some major roster decisions likely looming, a quick ascent by Yesavage would be huge.