The discussion about where Trey Yesavage goes from his Major League Baseball debut with the Toronto Blue Jays has been more than positive.
He struck out a team-record nine batters, the most by a pitcher in his MLB debut, and was dominant after giving up a first-inning run. While he didn’t factor in the decision, he did make a big impact in more ways than one.
What impact he makes for the Toronto Blue Jays now is being debated. He has gone from a possible reliever out of the bullpen in the postseason to a continued starter through the postseason. Athlon Sports’ Kristie Ackert approached that topic in her latest piece.
She writes in part, “Former big leaguer Mark DeRosa, and USA Team manager for the World Baseball Classic, said on MLB Network he expects Toronto will stick with their veteran starters for the playoffs. They will stick with Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Shane Bieber, or Kevin Gausman.
“Yesavage, despite his tremendous debut, may get limited or relief exposure rather than a full run as a starter in October. An AL scout suggested Tuesday that Yesavage could be devastatingly effective out of the bullpen in the playoffs. It’s fewer innings, high leverage, and virtually no tape on him could make him tougher than a lot of polished starters.”
Keegan Matheson, who covers the Blue Jays for MLB.com, spoke with Yesavage’s newest teammate, Kevin Gausman, about what he saw. Gausman, also a starting pitcher, was left amazed by Yesavage’s performance and thinks the sky is the limit for him.
“Any vice you have is going to be magnified,” Gausman said to Matheson. “[Yesavage] seems like a guy you’re never really going to have to worry about. He’s only been here a couple of days and I’ve only talked to him a couple of times, but he just seems way older than 22. Me at 22 and him at 22? Big, big difference.”
Click here to read more of that story.
Photo credit: Trey Yesavage, right (AP photo)
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