Trey Yesavage gets another chance to show he's playoff ready

After an impressive MLB debut earlier this week in Tampa Bay the Toronto Blue Jays are giving Trey Yesavage another start on Sunday in Kansas City. The 22-year-old has all of a sudden been thrust into a position where he's not just pitching to get his feet wet in the majors, but providing the Blue Jays with an extended audition to see if he can be an option for them in the postseason.

In the last two days, the Blue Jays announced some major changes that are affecting their starting rotation. On Friday, following their game in Kansas City, Manager John Schneider announced that Opening Day starter José Berrios will be moving to the bullpen until the end of the season. Berrios has struggled to provide any consistency over the last month and Schneider says it was a difficult decision, but one they felt was necessary at this time of the year.

Trey Yesavage gets another chance to show he's playoff ready

Then on Saturday afternoon, the Blue Jays announced that Chris Bassitt was heading to the 15-day IL due to inflammation in his back. That drops the Blue Jays down to a four man rotation, which includes Yesavage, along with Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber.

While the Blue Jays will likely mostly be relying on the three veterans, Yesavage now has a chance to scoop up one of those rotation spots and prove he can be relied upon in the playoffs. Bassitt will be out until just before the ALDS, but he may not be ready to jump right back into game action - especially in a playoff series.

One advantage the youngster has is that he only has that one start under his belt, so opponents have yet to face him and usually, those first meetings tip the scales in favour of the hurler. He also attacks hitters from one of the highest arm angles in league history, which makes his splitter extremely effective. It was his main go-to strikeout pitch when he racked up nine K's in his debut against the Rays.

As the season winds down, the Blue Jays pitching isn't in a state that they had hoped it would be in at this time of the year, but they have done a good enough job by building up their depth and giving themselves some options. One of those options now includes Yesavage who, with a good start against the Royals, can perhaps solidify himself as a playoff starter just over a year after being a first-round draft pick.