Around this time last season, not many people knew who Trey Yesavage was.
It wasn't until September 15 that the Toronto Blue Jays called up the young starting pitcher, who started the 2025 season with Single-A Dunedin.
But Yesavage's quick and unprecedented ascension to the big leagues last year earned him a start in Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he tossed seven innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts (a World Series record for a rookie starting pitcher).
After his historic start to his big league career, huge things were obviously expected from the 22-year-old entering his first full season in the majors. Those expectations were on hold, though, when Toronto placed Yesavage on the injured list on March 19 with a shoulder impingement, forcing him to miss the start of the regular season.
And while Yesavage has yet to go deep into any of his three starts this season since returning from the IL, Blue Jays manager John Schneider is still seeing flashes from his electric 2025 performance.
During an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Schneider gave his overall assessment of what he's been seeing out of his right-hander.
“We're still treating him like we're building up early in the season a little bit, but he's been so good and impressive," Schneider said. "Command with the fastball has been really impressive. There are going to be some adjustments that are made, and he's going to have to deal with that, and I think he's dealing with that… He's picked up right where he left off."
Through three starts this season for the Blue Jays, Yesavage has a dazzling 0.68 ERA with 15 strikeouts to just five walks across 13.1 innings pitched. But as Schneider alluded to, they're taking it easy with him. Yesavage has gone five innings or more in just one of his starts this season, his season debut against the Boston Red Sox on April 28. He has gone just four innings in his other two starts.
Still, though, Toronto has to be pleased with what they've seen out of Yesavage to this point, especially with their rotation already without Jose Berrios (right elbow stress fracture), Max Scherzer (right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation) and Shane Bieber (right elbow inflammation).
With the Blue Jays off to a disappointing start to their season at 18-24 and in fourth place in the AL East, they clearly need their young starting pitcher to remain healthy, even if it means Yesavage doesn't go deep into his starts.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
