After a historic performance in the postseason that fell just short of a World Series title, Toronto Blue Jays right-handed pitcher Trey Yesavage has been named the third-best RHP prospect by MLB Pipeline headed into the 2026 campaign.
It’s easy to forget that the 22-year-old Yesavage is entering this season with his rookie eligibility still intact after he had a postseason run for the ages pitching for Toronto a season ago.
Yesavage made his MLB debut on Sept. 15 against the Tampa Bay Rays, setting a franchise record for strikeouts in a debut with nine over five innings of work. He registered five shutout innings in his first career victory 12 days later against those same Rays and helped the Blue Jays clinch the American League East division title.
He finished his season with just 14 innings pitched.
The 2024 first-round pick out of East Carolina University set a new standard for rookie performances in the playoffs in October. In six appearances (five starts), Yesavage picked up a 3-1 record. He was otherworldly in his postseason debut in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, when he pitched 5.1 no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts – which set a Blue Jays postseason record, rookie or not.
Yesavage picked up the win in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series to force a deciding Game 7 when he held the Seattle Mariners to two runs over 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts, then he ascended to another level against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Toronto picked up wins in his starts in Games 1 and 5 – and Yesavage got the win after allowing just one run over seven innings with 12 strikeouts, which was another Blue Jays franchise postseason record that topped his own mark from earlier. On just two days rest, Yesavage picked up a hold in Game 7 when he allowed a run on 1.2 innings of work. The Blue Jays would go on to lose in 11 innings in that game.
Yesavage finished his postseason with an earned-run average of 3.58 with 39 strikeouts over 27.2 innings.
That run to the World Series would have been tough to imagine after Yesavage made his professional baseball debut in Single-A in April. He was not ranked on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list entering the 2025 campaign.
Now he enters the 2026 campaign as the most accomplished prospect on MLB Pipeline’s list by a long shot, and among the early favourites to take home the American League Rookie of the Year award.