East Carolina University alumnus Jeff Hoffman explains what makes Trey Yesavage so effective on the mound
Photo credit: https://x.com/BlueJays/
Toronto Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman explains why hitters have so much trouble picking up rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage's pitches, and what makes him so effective on the mound.
The Blue Jays hopes to get one step closer to an AL East crown weighs on the shoulders of young rookie righty Trey Yesavage this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays.
In a recent interview with Sportsnet's Kristina Rutherford, Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman said that he's been following Yesavage's career ever since Yesavage turned pro, since they're both East Carolina University grads, and Hoffman keeps track of fellow alumni.
⚾️ An @ECUBaseball reunion!
Three of East Carolina's All-Time greats are now in our family 🤯
🏴☠️ Trey Yesavage 🏴☠️ Jeff Hoffman 🏴☠️ Carter Cunningham
Three of East Carolina's All-Time greats are now in our family 🤯
🏴☠️ Trey Yesavage 🏴☠️ Jeff Hoffman 🏴☠️ Carter Cunningham
Jeff Hoffman states that nobody in MLB throws like Yesavage and that it's to his advantage
When asked about why experienced hitters have so much trouble with the 22-year old righty Hoffman had little doubt why.
«His arsenal plays really well with his delivery. He throws that four-seam fastball and a splitter, which looks a lot like a fastball when it comes out of the hand, and he plays a north-south game,» Hoffman said. «What makes it really hard for people to hit him is when he's throwing both pitches in the zone, when he's throwing the fastball up and down, because then there's no way of telling when the splitter is coming down, and it's just bottoming out and hitting the ground.»
Given Yesavage's arm reaches seven feet and two inches in the air as he throws the ball, Hoffman considers whether teams are having to reset their Trajekt pitching machines, the robotic devices that mimic pitcher's arm angles, release points and pitch trajectories to better prepare for Toronto's newest starter.
«Maybe they're putting the machine up higher on a bucket or something,» Hoffman said. «I don't know, but I would imagine they're trying to replicate it somehow to try and get those reps.»
Yesavage also explains what makes his delivery and arm angle so effective against batters who have never seen him before.
«No one throws at as high of a release point than I have, so it is unknown to many hitters,» Yesavage explained. «They've never seen that before. It allows my pitches to just tunnel off each other, where the heater has some ride to it, and then the splitter plays the exact same way, but at the last second it drops.»
He also has what he agrees looks like some extra torque to his body as he follows through and releases the ball, and he isn't sure if that's because he's starting his pitching motion from as high as his six-foot-four frame can reach, writes Rutherford.
«I kind of get in that back hip and just explode over the top,» Yesavage said. «Instead of being a side-to-side rotational pitcher, I'm trying to rotate vertically.»
The first time Yesavage showcased that style in the big leagues, he gave up a pair of hits to the first two batters he faced, but that first inning and early run was the only big trouble he encountered.
He settled in, and the Rays couldn't solve him through four more scoreless innings in an eventual 2-1 extra-innings Blue Jays victory, writes Rutherford.
«You couldn't really draw up a better one for your first time out, in the middle of a playoff race, against a good team that always plays us tough,» Hoffman said. «He seemed like he had complete control over himself, and he executed a lot of pitches, so that's more than you can ask for with a kid that has never been in that environment before.»
Yesavage has been in this Blue Jays environment for so little time that he doesn't even have a nickname yet, not even with «Savage» built right in.
«There is a lot of potential there,» Hoffman said. «I think we'll come up with a good one.»
It's still early, though, so there's time to think it over. But it's not early enough for the pitcher who's currently living in a hotel at the Rogers Centre to make his third start with the potential to clinch the AL East title.
Some in baseball wondered if it was risky to call on Yesavage so soon and at such a pivotal part of the season, but teammates never thought so given what he'd shown at every level, and since the Blue Jays trusted him at the top level when it matters most.
«Nobody throws like that in this league, so I think you kind of have a little bit of an edge right there,» Hoffman said.
Source: Sportsnet
Credit: Kristina Rutherford
'Nobody throws like that': Why Yesavage is starting Blue Jays' biggest game
| POLL | ||
1 HOUR AGO | 9 ANSWERS East Carolina University alumnus Jeff Hoffman explains what makes Trey Yesavage so effective on the mound Do you think that Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage will win tonight's game against the Rays? | ||
TRENDING NOW
