Trey Yesavage started his professional career before a smattering of people on an April day in a Class-A ballpark. On Friday, he will take the mound at Rogers Centre in Toronto in front of a packed house and a global television audience as the starter of Game 1 of the World Series.
Toronto Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage will start Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, taking on the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers and their vaunted lineup topped by three Most Valuable Player award winners.
The Blue Jays made the announcement Thursday afternoon, one that caps the meteoric rise the right-hander has made this season through all five levels of the organization.
Yesavage shared his reaction with reporters after getting the news from manager John Schneider.
“He pretty much called me in his office said they had faith in me to run me out there in the first game and I was fired up. Got up, hugged him,” Yesavage said. “… I was very excited.”
So is a veteran teammate.
“It’s sick,” George Springer told MLB Network of Yesavage being named the starter. “He’s awesome. I love him. He’s just so calm all the time. I feel like 22-year-old me would not be as chill as he always is, and I just feel like this modern-day player is just built way different.”
MLB.com’s Sarah Langs reported Yesavage (22 years and 88 days) will be the second-youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series Game 1. Only Ralph Branca (21 years and 267 days) was younger when he started the 1947 series for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
He will be opposed by veteran left-hander Blake Snell for the Dodgers, who is in his first season with the defending World Series champion Dodgers.
Snell, 32, is a two-time Cy Young Award winner who has been sparkling this postseason, tallying a 3-0 mark with an ERA of 0.86. He has allowed two runs, six hits and five walks and struck out 28 batters in 21 innings.
From the Draft to the World Series
It was just last year that the Blue Jays used the No. 20 overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft on Yesavage after his third collegiate season at East Carolina, where he was 11-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 15 starts.
He made his professional debut in April at Single-A Dunedin and started seven games before a promotion to High-A Vancouver. After pitching to a 1-0 record with a 1.56 ERA in four starts, Yesavage landed at Double-A New Hampshire.
He appeared in eight games (seven starts), then was summoned to Triple-A Buffalo. Just six games (four starts) – 17 1/3 innings in which he gave up seven earned runs on nine hits and struck out 26 batters – and he was called up to the big leagues.
Across all of his minor league stops, Yesavage posted a 5-1 record, a 3.12 ERA, 160 strikeouts and 41 walks in 160 innings.
Yesavage made his Blue Jays debut on Sept. 15 against the Rays in Tampa, Fla., in a 2-1, 11-inning win. He didn’t figure in the decision but gave up just one run on three hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out nine.
His regular-season record was 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three games.
Yesavage has made the same number of postseason starts and is 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 15 innings.
He turned in a dazzling performance in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees. Using his dominant splitter, he no-hit the Yankees for 5 1/3 innings, allowed one walk and struck out 11 batters.
He said Thursday that he has learned how to manage pitching in big games and didn't appear overwhelmed about starting the biggest game of his life.
"I've been able to go through this and handle it as diligently as possible with this being my rookie season and having these high-pressure games," Yesavage said. "I try to treat it as if it's not as high pressure as it is, mentally, but I know it's there so I think I've just developed it over time."
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