The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t short on talent in their prospect system. They have recently added several international free agents to their MLB prospect pool. They have added one young pitcher whose fastball reaches 96 MPH and another 6-foot-6 pitcher who was a first baseman. The Blue Jays are expected to announce at least two more signings on January 15th, when the international free agency period opens again. These prospects pale in comparison to the impact that Trey Yesavage could have on Toronto’s roster in 2026.
Yesavage made headlines during the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both for financial reasons and for knocking down pitching records.
These are just a few of the reasons why he is the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Despite this, an unexpected snub regarding his pitching arsenal has been revealed.
Trey Yesavage Voted 2nd-Best Secondary Pitch
MLB Pipeline recently published an article revealing the “best tools” of prospects as voted on by executives. In this poll, one question asked about the “best secondary pitch.”
Yesavage’s splitter garnered 24.4 percent of the votes.
However, this was only the second-most votes received. The New York Mets‘ Nolan McLean‘s sweeper received 31.7 percent of the votes. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com explained Yesavage’s findings.
“Anyone who watched Trey Yesavage in the postseason might have thought he and his splitter would run away with this one,” Mayo wrote on January 7th, 2026. “And it did get plenty of support after the low-80s offering produced a 59 percent miss rate. That didn’t dip in the big leagues, including the playoffs, as the pitch elicited a 58 percent miss rate at the highest level.”
When it comes to McLean’s sweeper, this is why it was voted top secondary pitch from a prospect.
“He throws it a lot (22 percent of the time in 2025 across all levels, more than his fastball, per Synergy), and it’s a 70-grade pitch with elite spin and horizontal movement averaging around 15-16 inches at Triple-A last season,” Mayo wrote. “It didn’t miss as many bats as Yesavage’s splitter (30 percent in the Minors, 20 percent in the big leagues), but it was awfully tough to hit, especially in the Minors (.159 BAA).”
Yesavage is the Favorite to Win AL Rookie of the Year
According to BetOnline Sportsbook, Yesavage is the odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year. He is currently favored at +225 amongst AL rookie candidates. He appears to have stiff competition in the form of Munetaka Murakami, who has +275 odds.
Across four minor league teams, Yesavage put together an impressive 2025. In 25 games, he recorded 160 strikeouts in 98 innings to go along with a 0.97 WHIP and a 3.12 ERA.
While he didn’t play much in the MLB, he was impressive regardless. In three regular season games, he recorded 16 strikeouts in 14 innings.
Despite the relatively pedestrian numbers prior to the postseason, Yesavage kicked things up when it mattered most. He threw the second-most strikeouts amongst all pitchers during the postseason (39), only two fewer than Blake Snell.
Trey Yesavage Snubbed?
Taking a look at the Savant data reveals some interesting numbers. To compare similar sample sizes, the following numbers include regular season and postseason data. According to Savant, Yesavage threw his splitter 186 times while McLean threw his sweeper 190 times.
McLean’s sweeper was hit 13 times, with two of those being home runs. Opposing batters had a .361 batting average against it, including a 20.3 Whiff percent.
Conversely, Yesavage’s splitter was only hit six times, with three of those being home runs. He boasted a 58.4 Whiff percent to go along with a .113 batting average against.
One way or another, it’s a bit strange that Yesavage’s splitter wasn’t voted as the best secondary pitch among top MLB prospects. However, if he makes another visit to the World Series along with an AL Rookie win, I’m sure that he won’t mind the snub.
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