The Toronto Blue Jays intend to promote their 2024 first-round pick, Trey Yesavage, to the major leagues, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith.
Yesavage is expected to be active for Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The 22-year-old right-hander has risen through the Blue Jays organization in his first season of professional baseball, pitching at each of Toronto’s four full-season affiliates this year.
Over 25 appearances and 98.0 innings across his four stops, Yesavage has posted a 3.12 ERA while striking out 160 batters and walking 41. His 160 punchouts rank sixth among all minor-leaguers.
Toronto picked Yesavage with the 20th-overall selection in last year’s draft out of East Carolina University, where ranked among the NCCA’s top pitchers with a 2.03 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 93.1 innings.
Armed with a four-seam fastball, splitter, cutter and slider, Yesavage features such a unique over-the-top arm angle, making at-bats uncomfortable for hitters on either side of the plate.
Yesavage was ranked as the Blue Jays’ top prospect and the 26th-overall prospect in all of baseball in a mid-season update by MLB Pipeline.
While Yesavage wasn’t added to Toronto’s 40-man roster ahead of roster expansion on Sept. 1, he could still be post-season eligible via a Commissioner’s exemption to replace an injured player — a hurdle that has commonly been cleared for top prospects in recent years.