Yesavage was born on July 28,2003,in Pottstown,Pennsylvania,the oldest of three children of Dave and Cheryl Yesavage. He grew up in Boyertown,Pennsylvania,attending Boyertown Area High School.[1]
Amateur career
Yesavage enrolled at East Carolina University to play college baseball for the East Carolina Pirates. He spent his freshman season as a relief pitcher and had a 4.50 earned run average (ERA) over 34 appearances.[2] Over the summer,he joined the Charlottesville Tom Sox of the summer collegiate Valley Baseball League.[3] Utilized as a starting pitcher in his sophomore year,he pitched to a 7–1 win–loss record with a 2.61 ERA and 105 strikeouts.[4] For his performance,he earned All-AAC honors and second-team All-American honors.[5] After the season,Yesavage was selected to play for the Team USA Collegiate National Baseball Team.[6][7] He was named a preseason first-team All-American entering his junior season.[8] He entered the season as a top starting pitcher improving on his game,pitching a 11–1 win–loss record with a 2.03 ERA and 145 strikeouts,leading him to first-team All-American and All-AAC honors. He was also named American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year.[9]
Professional career
Considered a top prospect in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft,[10] Yesavage was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round,with the 20th overall selection. He signed a contract with the Blue Jays on August 1,2024,which includes a $4.175 million signing bonus,$760,000 in 2025 base pay,and $820,000 in 2026 base pay.[11][12]
2025:Rookie season
Yesavage was assigned to the Single-ADunedin Blue Jays to open the 2025 minor league season. After going 3–0 with a 2.43 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 331⁄3 innings, he was promoted to the High-AVancouver Canadians on May 16.[13] Yesavage made four starts with the Canadians, recording a 1.56 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 171⁄3 innings before being promoted to the Double-ANew Hampshire Fisher Cats on June 12; he also appeared in the All-Star Futures Game.[14][15] After recording 46 strikeouts in 30 innings with New Hampshire, Yesavage was promoted to the Triple-ABuffalo Bisons on August 11.[16] He made six appearances for Buffalo, pitching to a 3.63 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 171⁄3 innings.[17]
On September 15, 2025, Yesavage was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[18][19] He made his major league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays the same day, allowing one run on three hits and striking out nine in five innings. His performance set a new Blue Jays franchise record for most strikeouts in an MLB debut, breaking Trent Thornton's record of eight set in 2019.[20] Yesavage received a no decision in a 2–1 extra-innings victory.[21] He earned his first career win on September 27, also versus the Rays.[22] On October 5, Yesavage made his MLB postseason debut as the starting pitcher in game 2 of the American League Division Series (ALDS) against the New York Yankees. In a widely touted showing described by Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson as among the "greatest performances in [Blue Jays] history,” he struck out 11 and did not give up a single hit in his 51⁄3 innings pitched. He broke the Blue Jays' franchise record for most strikeouts in a postseason game, with the previous record at 8 being set by David Price, Juan Guzmán, and Dave Stieb. He was also the second-youngest player in MLB history to have 10 or more strikeouts in a postseason game, behind Fernando Valenzuela. The Blue Jays went on to win 13-7.[23][24]
On October 24, Yesavage started Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming the second-youngest to do so after Ralph Branca in 1947.[25] On October 29 in Game 5, Yesavage pitched seven innings, allowing only one earned run and striking out twelve, a World Series record for a rookie.[26] His performance in the game brought his strikeout count this postseason to 39, another MLB record for a rookie in a single postseason, surpassing a record held by Michael Wacha.[27] He also became the first rookie with multiple 10-strikeout games in a single postseason.[28]
Pitching profile
Yesavage throws a fastball that maxes out at 96 miles per hour (154km/h) and sits at 94 miles per hour (151km/h) to 95 miles per hour (153km/h) while pitching. He complements his fastball with a mid-80s slider, a mid-80s splitter, and a low-80s spike curveball. His splitter imitates a slider with a late sharp horizontal movement.[10] Across all pitchers, he features an abnormally high arm release angle at 63° along with a high release point at 7.09 feet (2.16m), behind only Jonah Tong and Justin Verlander in 2025, respectively.[29] His slider features more arm-side movement than any other pitcher in the MLB in 2025, with 3.4 inches (86mm) of movement, along with his fastball being tied at fourth with most induced rise, at 19.5 inches (500mm).[29]
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