At 22 years and 88 days old, Trey Yesavage is the second-youngest Game 1 World Series opening-day pitcher in history, second only to the Dodgers’ Ralph Branca, who was 21 when he took the mound in 1947. Just six months ago, Yesavage was pitching in front of 327 people with Single-A Dunedin; now he has pitched for one of the most important games in recent Blue Jays history in front of 44,000 people and millions of others watching on TV.
For most, this pressure might crush them, but for Yesavage, who had been thrown into high-pressure games all postseason, it was nothing new.
Just over a year ago, Yesavage graduated from East Carolina University after a scorching senior year season as a Golden Spikes semi-finalist and ACC pitcher of the year. After his highly productive college season, Yesavage’s draft potential only improved, as he was estimated as a top 10 pick in the 2025 draft. Yesavage ended up falling 20th overall to the Toronto Blue Jays. Now, after his standout performance in the postseason and World Series, teams are left wondering why they didn’t take a chance on the 6’4” right-hander.
Since being drafted, Yesavage has pitched in Dunedin for the Blue Jays Low-A affiliate, Vancover for the Blue Jays High-A affilate, New Hampshire for the Blue Jays Double-A affiliate, Buffalo with the Blue Jays Triple-A affiliate, and Toronto with the Big League club.
His professional career began rather slowly when he walked six batters in three and two-thirds innings during his professional debut on Apr. 8, 2025. That little speed bump didn’t slow his career down.
From there, Yesavage ascended within the Blue Jays’ minor league system, reaching the AAA team in the middle of August and pitching only four games for the team where he posted a 3.63 ERA over 17 ⅓ innings before being called up to the Majors.
Yesavage’s quick jump through the rankings of the Jays’ minor league organization is not unparalleled, but it is very uncommon. Only nine other players have gone from Single-A to Triple-A while stopping at every level in between in the same season as their MLB debut since 2005.
By Sept. 15, 2025, Blue Jays manager John Schneider decided Yesavage was ready for the Major Leagues. In his debut against the Tampa Bay Rays, he pitched five innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out nine.
Yesavage’s regular season stats earned him a starting playoff spot when the Jays’ staff began to thin out. Important arms like José Berríos, Nick Sandlin, and Robinson Peña were all taken off of the roster due to injuries. Because of these injuries, Yesavage was thrown into the deep end during Game 2 of the ALDS against the intimidating Yankees lineup. Yesavage had to navigate the pressure of facing a lineup with Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger after having only thrown 17 innings in his MLB career.
Even though Yesavage had to face All-Stars and potential Hall of Famers that he grew up watching, he still dominated, showing his veteran-like composure — throwing 5 ⅓ innings with 11 strikeouts and one walk.
His performance earned him the ball in Games 2 and 6 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners. Yesavage once again was thrown into a high-pressure game during Game 6 when the Blue Jays played a win-or-go-home at Rogers Centre. Yesavage cemented that he was the guy to go to, throwing five and two-thirds innings and only allowing two earned runs while throwing seven strikeouts.
After his clutch performances against the Yankees’ dangerous roster and a gutsy performance against the Mariners, Yesavage won over not only the coaching staff but all of the city of Toronto.
Yesavage’s dominant postseason performance, using his high arm angle and vanishing splitters, gave him the ultimate reward of being the one to receive the ball for Game 1 of the World Series against the star-studded, reigning World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Being a rookie that’s 22 years old and having that weight put on your shoulders, it’s a big deal,” Yesavage said before Game 1. “But everyone in this clubhouse has my back.”
Yesavage gave Toronto four gritty innings of two-run pitching in Toronto’s 11–4 Game 1 win, even striking out Shohei Ohtani to lead off the game. With the adrenaline kicking in, his fastball sat in the upper 90s, keeping the Dodgers off balance all game. His excellent poise was tested and reigned true after coming back and dealing following a rough second inning.
After the win, Yesavage commented on his performance.
“It’s my desire to go out and strike out everybody I pitch to,” Yesavage said. “To be able to start the game on a high note was definitely a confidence builder. It was cool. It was really cool.”
In a monumental Game 5, with the series tied 2–2, Yesavage was once again handed the ball when the Blues Jays needed a big time start. And the result was dominant. Yesavage tossed seven innings of one-run ball while striking out a playoff rookie record 12 batters in a dominant 6–1 Blue Jays victory.
Yesavage has made three career regular-season starts and has now made five playoff starts. He will be classified as a rookie next season as he did not throw enough innings in the regular season to exhaust his eligibility.
“Walking from the bullpen to the dugout, I took a moment to look around the stadium, see all the fans,” Yesavage said postgame. “I wanted to, I was hoping I would send [them] home upset.”
