Trey Yesavage's Spring Breakout performance shows why he's the Blue Jays' future

It took eight months, but Trey Yesavage finally got to make his Blue Jays debut on Saturday.

It didn't disappoint. Yesvage, who Toronto took with the No. 20 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, tossed two electric innings in the Blue Jays' 10-0 win over the Twins in Toronto's Spring Breakout game. And while it was only a short outing, it was still enough time to have Toronto's fans drooling over his potential.

Trey Yesavage looked like the real deal in Toronto's Spring Breakout game

The Blue Jays drafted Yesavage last year an eye toward both the present and the future. While Yesavage was (and still is a prospect), he entered the draft as a 20-year-old college pitcher with 195 1/3 collegiate innings under his belt.

He had a 2.03 ERA in his last year at East Carolina to go along with 145 strikeouts and a .154 batting average against.

After starting his college career as a reliever, he transitioned to a starting pitcher and threw 93 1/3 innings in 2024. He also suffered a collapsed lung during dry needling before his conference tournament, which is another reason why the Blue Jays have elected to slow-play his development.

That seems to be the right call, as he hit 97 miles per hour with his fastball on Saturday and racked up three strikeouts.

“It’s definitely been long, slow and methodical,” Yesavage told reporters afterward. “Every detail has been accounted for. It’s amazing to finally be out there pitching in a Blue Jays uniform.”

At 6-foot-4, Yesavage has a deceptive release that allows for his fastball to get on hitters quickly, and he pairs that with a strong slider, splitter and curveball.

While the future looks bright for Yesavage, we likely won't get a chance to see him in Toronto until 2026. While he's older than most prospects in the lower levels of MLB, he seems ticketed to start the year in Single-A before moving to High-A (and potentially Double-A) later in the year.

His lack of minor league innings didn't impact his prospect rating, as he was named Toronto's No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline along with being named Toronto's No. 2 prospect.

Yesavage could enter Toronto's rotation at a key time. While the Blue Jays are entering 2025 with a veteran-heavy starting rotation, the unit could look very different next year.

Both Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer's contracts are up after this season, while José Berríos has an opt-out he could take advantage. Sure, Toronto has some solid young arms in the form of Jake Bloss and Bowden Francis, but Yesavage appears to be on a different level.

And if Saturday's start was any indication, it won't take him too long to show that to Toronto once he reaches The Show.