Trey Yesavage's rise will have Reds fans dreaming about their own breakout star

The Toronto Blue Jays are one win away from their first World Series title since 1993, and rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage has been at the center of their success this postseason. In a crucial game on the road Wednesday night in Los Angeles, the Blue Jays turned to their young right-hander and he turned in yet another stellar performance.

Yesavage is not a household name. In fact, he was just called up to the big leagues at the tail end of the 2025 season. He made three starts for Toronto in September and posted a 3.21 ERA while covering 14 innings of work.

The right-hander, however, has become a star during the playoffs. Yesavage has a 3.46 ERA in five postseason starts. During the World Series, he's logged 11 innings and struck out 17 Los Angeles Dodgers hitters en route to a 2.45 ERA and .909 WHIP.

Trey Yesavage's rise will have Reds fans dreaming about Chase Burns' future stardom

Seeing a young pitcher like Yesavage produce this type of success in the postseason should give Cincinnati Reds fans hope that they might have something similar in fellow rookie hurler Chase Burns. The Reds fireballer debuted earlier this summer and showed flashes during his 13 appearances this season. Burns posted a 4.57 ERA in 43⅓ innings and struck out 67 batters.

Much like Burns, Yesavage was a first-round draft pick back in 2024. While Yesavage pairs his heater with an effective splitter, Burns relies on his fastball/ slider combination. Both pitchers get a ton of swing-and-miss, and each one recorded a chase rate above 30% during their brief stints in the big leagues last season.

Yesavage's postseason success should give Burns something to focus on heading into the offseason. The Blue Jays' rookie has effectively mixed in his slider against right-handed batters while preferring to turn to his splitter against left-handed hitters.

Burns alters his attack ever so slightly, turning to his changeup against lefties. But if the young Reds' hurler can infuse that third pitch more effectively heading into 2026, the sky is the limit for Burns moving forward.

Yesavage has paved the way for young pitchers like Burns to find success early in their careers. While Cincinnati may not be completely ready to hand the keys over to Burns heading into 2026, Yesavage's postseason success has shown what can happen when you take such risks.