These Kids Are Dominating October Baseball

Highlights

• Rookie Trey Yesavage no-hit the Yankees into the sixth with 11 K in ALDS Game 2.
  
• Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler’s WC clincher: 8 IP, 12 K, 0 BB vs. Boston.
  
• Other rookie arms on stage: Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Roki Sasaki.
  

The postseason used to be survival of the steadiest. Now it’s survival of the freshest.

 In this American League Division Series, the New York Yankees ran headfirst into a 22-year-old throwing playoff-caliber pitches like he’s been here for years. 

Toronto Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage carried a no-hitter into the sixth and struck out 11 in Game 2, giving Toronto a 2–0 series lead and proving again that October keeps skewing younger and meaner on the mound.

The headliners: Yesavage and Schlittler

Yesavage’s playoff debut wasn’t just good, it was record-setting—5⅓ hitless with 11 strikeouts, part of a Toronto two-game offensive avalanche that has the Yankees on the brink. His splitter and ride played at Yankee-unfriendly levels, and the rookie handled the moment like a vet in just his fourth start in the big leagues. 

On the other side, the Yankees already watched their own rookie carry them through a knockout game. 

Cam Schlittler shut down the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card clincher. The rookie threw eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks in an elimination game. The first line of its kind in postseason history and a franchise debut record for punchouts.

The 2025 rookie pitching ledger (so far)

• Trey Yesavage, Blue Jays: ALDS Game 2 vs. Yankees — 5.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 11 K, TOR won 13–7.
  
• Cam Schlittler, Yankees: ALWC Game 3 vs. Red Sox — 8.0 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 12 K, 0 BB, NYY won 4–0.
  
• Connelly Early, Red Sox: ALWC Game 3 at Yankees — 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 K in elimination loss.
  
• Payton Tolle, Red Sox: ALWC appearance — 0.1 IP, 0 R (debut relief cameo).
  
• Roki Sasaki, Dodgers: NLDS/WC relief — scoreless, one hit allowed across recent outings; used as a late-inning weapon.

Boone’s read: why the kids are this ready

Yankees manager Aaron Boone doesn’t think it’s a fluke that the kids are dominating pitching.  Boone pointed to pitch design, high-speed cameras, grip work, and tailoring arsenals to a pitcher’s body as the reasons prospects arrive MLB-ready.

And that’s why October continues to introduce new faces with elite stuff.