Maybe it’s because seventeen billion rookie pitchers were drafted last August/September, but it feels like there are more pitchers in the series of rookie fantasy prospects posts this year, and I won’t be doing any more pitchers either. One more on Friday, and then on Monday the fantasy baseball sleepers kick off and the rankings begin Patreon. That means I won’t be doing a post for Payton Tolle, Andrew Painter, Connelly Early, Parker Messick, Luis Morales, Troy Melton, JR Ritchie, Logan Henderson, Rhett Lowder and so on for rookie starters. Usually this means they won’t be included in the rankings, but I think a few, if not all, will be. Just not enough time to discuss them in depth. If you click on their names, I promise they’ve all been discussed further. In fact, I’m pretty sure Andrew Painter has been discussed in depth over the last three years. Phils never promotes a prospect and chooses to give us years of Aaron Nola slop – slop indeed! Anyway! I saved perhaps the best rookie pitcher for last Trey Yesavage. So, what can we expect from Trey Yesavage for fantasy baseball in 2026?
If the Jays didn’t trust Trey Yesavage in the postseason, would I have as much confidence as a 22-year-old in their 2026 plans? No, but he was downright dominant at times in the playoffs, and even when he gave up an untimely homer, he still wiped the floor with strikeouts for some of the game’s best hitters. He was ranked 61st overall in the Jakkers Dynasty starter rankings, and he wrote an entire post for the Trey Yesavage fantasy. Meanwhile, Itch previously said, “At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Yesavage has strength and balance throughout his delivery, which helps him command a four-pitch arsenal highlighted by a dynamic splitter who tunnels well with his slider, fastball and curve. I’m also tunneling under Gray’s house and about to jump out like a groundhog and grab his ass.” What?
There’s that splitter mentioned again, and by that I mean what I’ve said five thousand times before: Teach your kids to throw a splitter and they’ll be an MLB pitcher. Here are the aforementioned splitter and other pitches:
39 wanted?
All 11 of Trey Yesavage’s strikeouts #Postseason debut? pic.twitter.com/q0DyWRKuyf
— Sportnet (@Sportsnet) October 6, 2025
He barely graduated and flew through the minors: 98 IP over four (!) levels with a 14.7 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and 3.12 ERA. The 14.7 K/9 is so silly that even if he gives a 10+ K/9 in the majors, how bad could it get? An 11 K/9 completely wipes away the sins of a 3.5 BB/9. I don’t know if he’ll get there, but that’s within the realm of possibility. My conservative feel for him will be 10.4 K/9 with a 4 BB/9. If the previous statistics have wiped away the sins, what is that? A bit of a shame, I think. Nolan McLean is still my number one rookie starter for 2026; Tong or Yesavage are two. However, anything can happen with proportions. A 10.4 K/9 with a 4 BB/9 is scary, but Luis Gil put up those kinds of numbers in 2024 and turned it into a top 25 starting year. These are indeed the positive and heavenly dreams and/or hopes. To give you more hopium, Yesavage had a 36.4% chase rate in his very limited MLB regular season 14 innings. Tarik Skubal led the majors with 34.8% last year. Ha! I’m crying. No, he won’t be Tarik Skubal (at least not in 2026), but the upside is huge if he ever masters his pitches. For 2026 fantasy baseball, I’m giving Trey Yesavage projections of 8-8/3.88/1.38/154 in 133 IP with a chance for much more.
#Trey #Yesavage #Fantasy #Outlook