Trey Yesavage gave John Schneider another rough one Friday, and the Blue Jays rookie is finally hitting the hardest stretch of his young career.
Yesavage worked 5 innings against the Yankees and was charged with 5 earned runs on 4 hits. He struck out 3, but the bigger problem was the 6 walks that kept handing New York too many extra chances.
That line lands harder because it did not come out of nowhere. This has now become a 4-start stretch where the command, the calm, and the finish have all looked less steady than they did early in the season.
The shift is easy to see in the recent game log. Over his previous 3 starts before Friday, Yesavage walked 11 hitters in 16.2 innings, including 7 free passes in 5 innings against Baltimore on May 30.
That is the part that changes the conversation. Early in the year, Yesavage looked like a young arm attacking lineups. Lately, he has looked more like a rookie trying to pitch around trouble he keeps creating for himself.
And this one stings a little more because he had dominated the Yankees earlier. Before Friday, he had thrown 11.1 scoreless innings against New York across 2 starts.
So this was not just a bad matchup or a stacked lineup finally getting its first look. This was a hitter group he had already handled, and this time the command backed up on him.
The Blue Jays still need patience with their top arm
That is where Schneider's view matters most. The Blue Jays are not dealing with a pitcher who lacks talent. They are dealing with a 22-year-old starter who climbed fast, posted a 3.16 ERA through his first 8 starts, and is now learning how hard it is to stay sharp once the league starts adjusting.
There is still plenty here to believe in. Even with the recent slide, Yesavage has 44 strikeouts in 42.2 innings, which tells you the stuff has not disappeared.
But the sport is testing him now. In 2 of his last 4 starts before Friday, he had already allowed at least 5 earned runs once and issued at least 7 walks once.
That is usually where young starters find out what kind of adjustment-makers they really are. The first wave of success gets attention. The first real slump shows whether the pitcher can settle himself when the fastball location fades and counts start getting away.
Yesavage is talented enough to work through it. Nothing in this stretch says the Blue Jays should panic. It does say the easy part is over, and for the first time in his pro run, Trey Yesavage is being forced to answer back after a rough month.
Should the Blue Jays keep Trey Yesavage in the rotation through this rough stretch?
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