In 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays received a huge boost from 2024 first rounder Trey Yesavage, who came up midway through September and made three starts down the stretch. He ended up going 14 innings in those outings, giving up 13 hits, five earned runs, walking seven and striking out 16, leading to a 3.21 ERA. <\/p>\n
He also made five starts in the postseason, including two in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he held his own against the best hitters in baseball, too. In his 26 innings of work in October, he held a 3.46 ERA, and then in November he came in out of the bullpen and gave up a solo home run in his 1 2\/3 innings of work. <\/p>\n
It’s an impressive start for the rookie’s career, and has a lot of people extremely high on him entering the 2026 campaign. <\/p>\n
This weekend at MLB Network, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo was asked who he thinks could be this season’s Trey Yesavage, and he named Jamie Arnold of the A’s. Arnold was selected by the A’s with the 11th overall pick in the 2025 draft, and has yet to make his pro debut. He’s also a consensus top-100 prospect<\/a>. <\/p>\n Who can be the 2026 version of Trey Yesavage? <\/p>\n Listen to who @JonathanMayo<\/a> picked \ud83d\udd0a pic.twitter.com\/wGmusa62k5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 SleeperAthletics (@SleeperAth) January 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Mayo says, “I’m gonna stick with the lefty from the draft, and that’s Jamie Arnold. The A’s were very thrilled, and probably surprised that he lasted to number 11 overall in the draft. Had as good of a track record in college as just about any starter at Florida State. <\/p>\n “2025 was a little up and down but then he finished really strong. He flat-out competes. His slider could get hitters in the big leagues out right now. That stuff has ticked up, he’s athletic on the mound. He’s got a fastball that can touch the upper 90’s. The slider I mentioned is probably one of the better breaking pitches from the class, and he’s got a good change-up to boot.<\/p>\n “I think the A’s are sneaky good, so I have a feeling that he’s going to start at a high level, and they won’t hesitate to move him up to help that young core of hitters if they’re hanging around in the AL West.” <\/p>\n This is one of the scenarios we laid out yesterday, when he was named to the top-100 list. Arnold is seen as someone that can move quickly through the system, and if the A’s are in contention, that could be his cue to take the A’s to the postseason. <\/p>\n The one area that is a bit of a question mark for the A’s is their pitching staff, but the reason that many fans are optimistic heading into 2026<\/a> is that the club has a number of top prospect options, like Arnold, that could be in the mix. This could be a very interesting season of A’s baseball, and it could end with some postseason games in Sacramento. <\/p>\n Recommended Articles: