TORONTO — Trey Yesavage sat on the front bench of the home dugout at Rogers Centre, eyes fixed on Toronto Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman during the first inning on Saturday afternoon.
Just a few hours before, manager John Schneider revealed that Yesavage would be handed the ball for Game 2 of the American League Division Series and the Blue Jays rookie said he planned to soak in the sights and sounds of his first exposure to playoff baseball.
“I want to experience every second of this and take it all in,” Yesavage said.
By now, you’re probably familiar with the 22-year-old’s story: he was drafted 20th overall last year and began this season in A-ball before rocketing through each level of the organization’s system to make his major-league debut on Sept. 15.
All of that will culminate in Yesavage’s start on Sunday against New York Yankees left-hander Max Fried as the Blue Jays look to go up 2-0 in the best-of-five series. (4:08 p.m. ET / 1:08 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).
“I’ve experienced a lot this year. This is my fifth team I’ve been with. I’ve met the entire organization,” said Yesavage. “But being here in this spot, I couldn’t have drawn it up any better.”
Schneider said the Blue Jays preferred to start Yesavage in Game 2 and have right-hander Shane Bieber pitch Tuesday’s Game 3 at Yankee Stadium in part because the veteran is a better fit to handle the “hostile environment in New York.”
However, as the 44,655 in attendance for Saturday’s 10-1 win over the Yankees proved, Rogers Centre can also produce an electric atmosphere and those around the Blue Jays feel Yesavage is well-suited to handle the assignment.
Schneider pointed to the right-hander’s immediate success — he’s allowed five runs in 14 innings (3.21 ERA) with 16 strikeouts over three starts with Toronto — while teammate George Springer said he’s been impressed with how Yesavage carries himself.
“He seems unfazed by a lot of things,” Springer said. “I think he’s outwardly calm and I think that perception of him, it does a lot for us. You would expect somebody to appear nervous, but he doesn’t. And I think that just shows who he is as a player, who he is as a human being.”
Gausman echoed that.
“He’s a 22-year-old with not that many starts under his belt, but he doesn’t act 22 at all,” Gausman said after picking up the victory with a strong performance on Saturday.
“You would think he’s been here for months and months. Everybody loves him and he has a fierce competitiveness about him when he goes out there, and I think everybody really likes to see that. We’re fired up to see him go.”
Yesavage said he was “beyond floored” when Schneider told him this week that he’d start Game 2 and called his parents later that night. They’re planning to make the drive from Pennsylvania to attend the game.
All season long, the Blue Jays had been monitoring Yesavage’s innings and pitch counts with the goal of having him strong and ready to contribute if these types of situations arrived. He pitched last Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays in a game the Blue Jays needed to win to keep pace with the Yankees atop the AL East.
That was also Yesavage’s first start at the Dome and he responded to the pressure by tossing five shutout innings that captivated the energetic crowd of 42,624. The right-hander said that experience offered a boost of confidence and put him in a strong place mentally.
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Watch Blue Jays in ALDS on Sportsnet
The Toronto Blue Jays will try to build off a dominating Game 1 win Sunday against the Yankees, with Game 2 of the ALDS at Rogers Centre. Catch the action on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, starting at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.
As for his calm demeanour, Yesavage notes that it was something he developed while pitching in big games for East Carolina in the NCAA Regionals.
“I think my time in college playing in front of a bunch of rowdy fans and then going on the road to a bunch of fans that hate you,” said Yesavage. “Being able to stay even-keeled and not ride the highs and ride the lows, just being calm and controlling my breath and just being in the present moment.”
Sure, collegiate baseball is vastly different than the majors, of course, yet Yesavage can spot the throughlines.
“I would say it’s kind of the same,” he said. “Having to go out there and perform at your best to help your team win a championship. At the end of the day, you have the same goal. It’s to win.
“Granted, there’s going to be a lot more fans here, and there’s going to be a lot more energy surrounding this place, but I’m built for this.”
