Trey Yesavage Confirmed As Blue Jays' Game 1 Starter

[Leo Morgenstern]

The story of Trey Yesavage's first MLB season just keeps getting better. Drafted in 2024. Pro debut in 2025. Four promotions. An AL East title. A dominant postseason debut. An AL pennant. 

What's next? World Series Game 1 starter.

When the 2025 World Series kicks off at the Rogers Centre tomorrow night, Yesavage will throw the first pitch of the game, presumably to Shohei Ohtani. He'll go toe-to-toe with two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell. He's already pitched the "biggest game of his career" several times this year, but that description applies once again. 

Kevin Gausman, who started Game 1 of the ALDS and ALCS, is taking a breather after pitching in relief in Game 7 on Monday. Game 2 is scheduled for October 25, five days after ALCS Game 7, so, in theory, both Gausman and Shane Bieber should be available, though John Schneider has not yet revealed who will take the ball against Dodgers All-Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Featured image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images.

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[Stangstag]

Pretty much what I expected with Gausman pitching an inning on Monday.

But damn… just Imagine telling someone at the start of the season that Trey Yesavage would be starting game 1 of the World Series. 

[SeranthonySantander]

Dodgers strike out a lot.  Ohtani is going to look ridiculous.

[G-Snarls]

3 minutes ago, SeranthonySantander said:

Dodgers strike out a lot.  Ohtani is going to look ridiculous.

Fingers crossed

[SeranthonySantander]

I think the Trey we get is more like the last couple games we’ve seen.   He had a bit of walk issues in the some levels

But I’m sure he can easily have a game like he did against the rays or Yankees every few starts. 

[Eat My Shatkins]

He is "built for this".

[John_Havok]

20 minutes ago, SeranthonySantander said:

I think the Trey we get is more like the last couple games we’ve seen.  I heard he had a bit of walk issues in the minors.

But I’m sure he can easily have a game like he did against the rays or Yankees every few starts. 

you heard.... ya ok. 

[SeranthonySantander]

13 minutes ago, John_Havok said:

you heard.... ya ok. 

Well read.  5.7/9 in AAA but not a lot of games, just 6 games not full starts 

[mphenhef]

[HomeRunHomer]

Trey is doing quite the speedrun. He is going to complete baseball in 1 year.

[sliderguy35]

this'll be a fun matchup, they're weirdly pretty similar from a results perspective but they get there in completely different ways. both guys have below average walk & first pitch strike rates but make up for it by getting plus/plus swing and miss and strikeouts.

the difference is: yesavage has below average command but is throwing just enough strikes to brute force through hitters with elite Stuff+ numbers (mainly due to the crazy angles combined with the velocity on his splitter / slider from his delivery)

snell on the other hand has average stuff but really elite command that lets it play up to get whiffs. it might seem counterintuitive to think of a guy with an above average walk rate as having elite command but snell's a guy who knows where his stuff plays and is willing to nibble at the edges of the zone to avoid taking major damage & make hitters get themselves out. 

oddly enough, i think both teams' offenses match up really well against the opposing starter. the dodgers aren't going to chase and are going to force yesavage into the zone to beat them. meanwhile the jays love to run up the count (which snell naturally does) and had the 2nd best run value as a team against balls in the shadow zone (the edges of the strike zone) this season.

i think it'll be a higher scoring game than most people might think.

[Jonn]

2 hours ago, Stangstag said:

Pretty much what I expected with Gausman pitching an inning on Monday.

But damn… just Imagine telling someone at the start of the season that Trey Yesavage would be starting game 1 of the World Series. 

You would have been laughed off this board. That’s for sure:

[Eat My Shatkins]

sliderguy posts are must read material

[Omar]

Can the Jays layoff Snell's change up?  The Brewers couldn't. If the Jays overcome this it wouldn't surprise me if they get some runs off of him. Knocking him out of the game would be a shock to the Dodgers that will echo into game two of the series. Let's go Jays. 

[ComeTogether]

Game 2 is a must win if Jays don't win Game 1.  

Let's hope Trey just keep proving himself as the stakes get higher. 

[SeranthonySantander]

10 minutes ago, ComeTogether said:

Game 2 is a must win if Jays don't win Game 1.  

Let's hope Trey just keep proving himself as the stakes get higher. 

We have Gausman game 2.

The snell games are the only ones I’m worried about.  But if we can keep him to no more than 6 innings we should be good.

[keggy]

Definitely not the move I would have made, but I see the reasoning behind it.

Pros:

• Gausman potentially gets 2 starts on long rest, and his heater usually pops after a break.
• Yesavage available for Game 7 (and maybe Game 6) out of the pen instead of Gausman which is probably more of a weapon
• Surprise factor to the Dodgers prep the night before Game 1

Cons:

• Starting Yesavage for a potential Game 5 in on the during the World Series with those LA fans is asking a lot, even for a poised young man. This isn't like pitching on the road against Tampa in a little league park.
• As of today Gausman is still our best SP, a handful of starts doesn't change that. If we get ran through in 5 games, we risk leaving him on the shelf without using him twice.

Again, not the move I would make, but I love the balls the front office is showing here.

[Waylanderz]

[Abomination]

I'm a little surprised they're not keeping Yesavage away from Dodger stadium assuming he would get a game 5, but I guess it kind of makes sense. They could run a bullpen day also and bump him to a game 6 with Gausman for a game 7 if the relievers are rested enough.

[ComeTogether]