One of college baseball’s finest pitchers is officially out of the running. The Toronto Blue Jays selected East Carolina pitcher Trey Yesavage with the 20th overall choice in the first round of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft.
Yesavage becomes the third ECU pitcher in four years to be selected in the first two rounds. The Cleveland Guardians drafted Gavin Williams first in 2021, while the San Francisco Giants drafted Carson Whisenhunt second in 2022.
Yesavage’s progress during three years at ECU is outstanding. As an 18-year-old freshman in 2022, he only pitched out of the bullpen and rarely provided much length. In 26 innings and 34 appearances, he won two saves and struck out 45 batters, but he also walked 19 and threw 13 wild pitches. Yesavage concluded his freshman season with a 4.50 ERA and 1.731 WHIP.
As a sophomore, Yesavage secured a spot in ECU’s weekend rotation and quickly established himself as a top prospect in the MLB Draft. During the 2023 season, he had 16 appearances, 14 of which were starts, and pitched to a 7-1 record with a 2.61 ERA and 1.000 WHIP, striking out 105 while walking only 23 in 76 innings.
This season, Yesavage emerged as one of the greatest pitchers in the country. He started 15 games and pitched 93.1 innings, finishing 11-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 0.868 WHIP. He had 145 strikeouts and 32 walks.
Yesavage missed the start of the AAC Tournament due to a partly collapsed lung, but he made a successful return at NCAA Regionals. He started in an elimination game against Wake Forest, allowing one run on six strikeouts, four walks, and one hit in 7.1 innings. Yesavage pitched 112 pitches in a strong performance, helping ECU defeat Wake Forest and fellow top draft prospect Chase Burns.
This season, Yesavage has allowed three or fewer hits in nine of his fifteen outings. Three of them were one-hit games, while one was part of a combined no-hitter. He went six innings with 12 strikeouts against Charlotte, resulting in a run-rule, no-hit seven-inning victory for ECU.
Yesavage also performed admirably against a North Carolina squad that later traveled to Omaha during the second weekend of the season, pitching six innings of one-run ball with 11 strikeouts in a close defeat in Chapel Hill.
Trey Yesavage’s MLB Draft scouting report
Yesavage’s fastball is solid, sitting in the mid-90s and reaching as high as 98. He also throws a slider/cutter, a curveball, and a splitter, which could be his greatest pitch.
Clearly, Yesavage is one of the most fascinating prospects in this year’s MLB Draft. He, Hagen Smith, and Chase Burns are the highly regarded trio of college arms at the top of the class.
Yesavage appears to be a good starter in an MLB rotation in the next years, based on his progress over the previous two years.
“More physical than athletic at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Yesavage has some effort in his delivery but it doesn’t prevent him from throwing strikes,” Yesavage’s scouting report on MLB.com reads. “Improved fastball command has keyed his success in 2024, as his heater has previously been battered when he did not locate it up in the zone. He currently appears like a mid-rotation starter after improving the consistency and control of his pitches.”
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