Thanks to a shoulder impingement, Trey Yesavage’s official MLB rookie season got off to a month-long delay. But on April 28, Yesavage will make his 2026 season debut, and at a great time, as well. Before his debut, we take a look at the numbers behind Yesavage’s rehab assignment between Dunedin and Buffalo.

The numbers

If you were to look at the raw numbers, one would think that Trey Yesavage‘s rehab performance didn’t go well. However, when it comes to rehab assignments, it’s not about the ERA or whatnot. Instead, it’s about building up to be at the level needed to perform at a high level.

Through four outings (three starts) between Low-A and Triple-A, Yesavage posted a 7.50 ERA in his assignment. The right-hander walked seven over 12 innings and conceded three home runs. However, he struck out 16 in that span.

The Blue Jays pitcher tossed as high as 71 pitches in his penultimate Minor League outing on April 15. In his final start, he threw 64 pitches.

Yesavage was able to get swing-and-miss against Minor League competition, although that was more muted in the bookend starts. In his second start, he posted a 50% Whiff%, and a shade over 36% in the third outing.

The velocity

Yesavage is not a flamethrower by any stretch of the imagination. Still, he can hit the mid-90s with regularity, and that was indeed the case during his assignment.

As shown below, Yesavage’s average velocity sat around 94 MPH in all four of his rehab assignments (there is Statcast data available for all of them). You can see the median, not the mean, on the boxplot image. But just know that he averaged as high as 94.7 MPH in his second start, and as low as 93.7 MPH in his final two starts.

His maximum velocity was 96 MPH, a good indicator that he is where he should be, even though the averages fluctuated. But again, nothing too worrying for someone who was building up in Minor League games.

As for the pitch usage, Yesavage leaned a lot on the four-seamer early on in his rehab assignment. Over 60% of the pitches used on April 3 were four-seamers, not surprising by any stretch of the imagination. Especially when taking into account that he tossed 44 pitches in that outing.

As his rehab assignment went on, the secondary pitch usage also, unsurprisingly, went up, as well.

In short, there wasn’t too much alarming to note from Yesavage’s assignment. Now, the question is how he will pitch in what will be his first real season in the Majors — and how much he’ll be protected by the team’s coaching staff.

The answer to the second question is, almost certainly, high. That was going to be the plan anyway, as this is Yesavage’s second full pro season. Yesavage threw a lot of innings last season, and his health is a high priority.

However, even though his leashes may not be long, the team will very much need him to succeed. The Jays have been dealt a tough hand, as multiple starters — Jose Berrios, Cody Ponce, Max Scherzer, & Shane Bieber — are in the IL.

Berrios is in the midst of his own rehab assignment.

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