TAMPA BAY, Fla. (WBTV) – A former college baseball player at a North Carolina school set a record in his MLB debut this week.
Trey Yesavage — who was a star pitcher at East Carolina University — played in his first major league game with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, Sept. 15.
Yesavage pitched five innings for the Blue Jays, giving up only three hits and one run in a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. His nine strikeouts — on only 69 pitches — were the most ever for a Toronto player in their MLB debut.
After the game, Blue Jays manager John Schneider talked about Yesavage’s impressive first outing.
“[He] settled in pretty well,” Schneider said of his rookie pitcher. “Hard to do, you know. He’s got a bunch of people right behind the dugout screaming for him, cheering for him. But really happy with the way he settled in.”
The 22-year-old had a rapid ascension through the Blue Jays’ minor league system after the team took him with their first-round draft pick in 2024. Yesavage started 2025 at the Low-A level but kept getting promoted throughout the season.
Now, he could become an integral part of a Blue Jays team that has a chance to make a deep playoff run.
Trey Yesavage was a standout pitcher at ECU before he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays.(AP photos)
“It was as special as I thought [it would be],” Yesavage told reporters after Monday’s game. “It almost felt like there was some sort of trance put over me with, like, a feeling of peace out there … just enjoying every moment of it.”
Yesavage — who is originally from Pennsylvania — was a key part of an ECU team that was a regional host in the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
During his three years with the Pirates, Yesavage threw nearly 200 innings across 65 games, and posted a 2.58 ERA.
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