Back in his rookie season in 2019, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was part of the prank in which he was tapped by his teammates on his day off against the Royals. Six seasons later, the tables have turned. Guerrero is the one teasing the rookies. The Blue Jays’ first baseman recently pulled a funny prank on a rookie who was only 22 years old and had just made his debut.

That rookie was Trey Yesavage, who became a part of Guerrero’s latest prank. On 16th September, he played his first major league match against the Tampa Rays. And he impressed everyone with his pitching. He threw 5 innings, gave up one run on three hits, walked 2 batters, and struck out 9. His ERA stood at 1.80, and his WHIP came in at 1.00. So, Guerrero Jr. decided to give the newbie an appreciation for his outing in a hilarious manner.

While Yesavage was doing a live Sportsnet interview from the bench on Tuesday night, someone was throwing sunflower seeds at him. Yesavage was trying to stay calm while answering questions. Then, Blue Jays play-by-play man Dan Shulman asked, “Let me guess, is that Guerrero?” Yesavage replied, “It sure is.” And that moment caught everyone laughing on social media when Offside shared the clip on Instagram with the caption, “Trey getting hit with handfuls of sunflower seeds from Vladdy is too good 🤣😭”

This calculated mischief represents Guerrero’s established pattern of entertainment in the clubhouse. One time, he emulated pitcher Jordan Romano’s delivery while Romano was actually pitching against the Braves in 2021. Fans in the stands couldn’t stop laughing at Guerrero’s acting.

Beyond the pranks, Yesavage gave a great performance on the mound. He entered the majors as Toronto’s 2024 first-round draft pick (20th overall) from East Carolina. When Ryan Borucki was DFA, the Blue Jays called him from the minors. He has played in 25 minor league games, starting 22 of them, with a 5-1 win-loss mark. He pitched 98 innings, struck out 160 batters, and had a 3.12 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP, which are decent numbers.

When asked about his debut, Yesavage said, “It was as special as I thought.” “It almost felt like there’s some sort of trance put over me with, like a feeling of peace out there, just enjoying every moment of it.”

The dominant splitter performance drew comparisons to Toronto’s established ace, Kevin Gausman. When asked about the comparison, Gausman humbly deflected, insisting the rookie already surpassed his own abilities at that age.

Gausman says, “Don’t compare me,” as Yesavage’s debut speaks volumes

Trey Yesavage’s first game with the Toronto Blue Jays got a lot of attention right away. It wasn’t only because he struck out nine Rays hitters in five innings and only gave up one run. His splitter was exceptional, generating 11 swings and misses out of 14 attempts and contributing to a total of 19 overall. This performance was notable, marking only the 10th time in 2025 that a starter achieved at least 11 whiffs on a splitter, with Kevin Gausman accounting for five of those.

The performance immediately drew comparisons, and when asked, Kevin Gausman said, “I was nowhere near that when I was 22. Don’t even compare me to him.” He appreciated Yesavage’s calmness, pointing out how the young man could blend pitches and had a “funky” setup that nevertheless looked in control.

Gausman went more into details and pointed out, “He’s pounding the zone. That was pretty fun to watch. The first two hitters, you’re like, ‘Oh … [crap]. Is this a Welcome to The Show type of thing? “ before settling down and showing that their debut was more than just talk. He talked about one at-bat against Brandon Lowe, saying, “That was the one at-bat when I was like, ‘Wow, that pitch is elite.'”

Trey Yesavage struck out Brandon Lowe, Junior Caminero, and Josh Lowe. The splitter in particular stood out. The Birds of the North lost to the Trop’s Team 1-2, but the highlight was Yesavage’s play at the mound.

Yesavage’s debut is being praised not only for the numbers but also because he seems to fit in from the start. The Blue Jays are watching another young youngster walk into the big leagues, just like Guerrero Jr. went from being the object of jokes to being the prankster. Gausman, who has been through this before, sees something true in how Yesavage handled his first moment.