The Toronto Blue Jays' No. 1 prospect, Trey Yesavage, gets the start for his MLB debut on Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The pregame narrative: Rotation depth hasn't been an issue for the Blue Jays, but they've opted to give their veteran group a breather by calling up the 22-year-old Yesavage. Toronto is just 1-5 vs. Tampa Bay this year, but the teams haven't squared off since May.
Check out my Blue Jays best bets vs. the Rays for Sept. 15, including a prop pick on George Springer.
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Blue Jays best bets vs. Rays
Best bet: Springer over 0.5 runs (-118)
This might not seem like an exciting price to pay, but Springer has been well worth it in the past two months.
Since the all-star break (37 games), Springer has been on an absurd heater:
- .370 BA
- .462 OBP
- .685 SLG
- 46 runs
- 1+ runs in 28 of 37
It's been a spectacular second half for the Blue Jays' biggest bats, as three of them (including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette) rank inside MLB's top five in wRC+.
Springer leads the way with a 215 wRC+.
The veteran leadoff man is a great pick to score regardless of who's on the mound right now, which is handy because the Rays' starter hasn't been announced at the time of this writing.
Right-hander Joe Boyle could be the guy, though, after he was scratched from his start for Triple-A Durham on Sunday.
Boyle has made five starts for the Rays since the all-star break, coughing up 22 runs and 39 baserunners in that span (9.68 ERA). So if he's on the bump, that should boost Springer's chances.
I also like Springer over 1.5 total bases (+105), especially if he's facing Boyle.
The righty averages 98.6 mph on his fastball, and Springer is one of Toronto's best when it comes to handling the heat (.556 SLG on pitches with a 97+ mph velocity, per Baseball Savant).
Key stat: Springer has scored 15 runs in his past 11 games.
Jays ML pick
Blue Jays moneyline (-130): You never know exactly what to expect from a pitcher making his MLB debut, but this pick isn't solely about Yesavage.
Toronto has been the far superior team offensively this season. Check out the difference in production over the past 30 days:
- Blue Jays: 5.85 runs/game, .811 OPS, 124 wRC+
- Rays: 4.38 runs/game, .729 OPS, 100 wRC+
Behind Yesavage, the Blue Jays have six relievers who've only worked either once or not at all in the past three days. So there should be plenty of pitching support, and I expect run support, too.
But let's not forget that Yesavage was locked in during the final stretch of his minor-league tenure.
Over his final five outings with Triple-A Buffalo, Yesavage posted a 2.87 ERA and a 13.2 K/9.
Blue Jays best bets made at 10:47 a.m. ET on 09/15/2025.
