logo
Blue Jays farm system notes (April 9): Blaine Bullard hits first professional home run
alt
Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Apr 10, 2026, 18:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 10, 2026, 17:10 EDT
Comments
There were a few firsts in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system on Thursday.
Overall, the Blue Jays’ affiliates played five games on Thursday. Two of those games belonged to the Dunedin Blue Jays, as they finished Tuesday’s postponed game. The D-Jays split those games, while the Vancouver Canadians picked up their first win of the season. Additionally, both upper-minor teams lost by one run.
Let’s take a look at the storylines from Thursday’s set of minor league games.

Blaine Bullard hits first career home run, JoJo Parker doubles twice

The D-Jays split their doubleheader, falling 6-3 in the first game, but winning the second game 6-5 to move their season record to 2-3. There were a few interesting notes from the two games.
For starters, 12th-rounder Blaine Bullard hit his first professional home run in the loss, hitting it to his pull side with the wind going against him. Two batters later, JoJo Parker hit his first career double.
That was one of two doubles on the day for Parker, as he also hit a double in their 6-5 win. Peyton Williams was the start of that game, going 3-4 with a triple and a run driven in. Jaxon West also hit two singles, while Enmanuel Bonilla hit his first Single-A double.
Between the two games, there were also a couple of debuts. The most notable of which was Austin Smith’s, who pitched a third of an inning in the 6-5 win. What’s notable about that is Smith will begin his career as a two-way player. He followed Troy Guthrie, who struck out four and allowed two runs (one earned) in his four innings of work.
In the first game of the double header, 2025 nondrafted free agent Reece Wissinger struck out the lone batter he faced. Brayden Heidel, also signed as an NDFA, struck out four batters in his three innings of work.

Trey Yesavage makes second rehab appearance

It looks like the Blue Jays’ will get some reinforcements for their rotation, as Trey Yesavage made his second rehab appearance. Overall, he pitched two and two-thirds innings with four earned runs allowed.
All four of the hits he allowed were singles, with two being hit hard. He also walked a batter, but struck out six. His velocity was right around where it was last season and he looked sharp. Next up is another rehab outing next week at some point, with the level being TBD.

Canadians picked up their first win

After starting their season 0-5, the High-A Vancouver Canadians finally picked up their first win, defeating the Eugene Emeralds 14-5. There were a few storylines and notes from this game as well.
Arjun Nimmala went 1-5 in this game, striking out twice. One was on a pitch well outside the zone, while the other strikeout saw him whiff twice on a down and away breaking ball. It wasn’t his best game, popping up with the bases loaded in the fourth and striking out with two on in the bottom of the fifth.
With the bases loaded in the seventh, Nimmala hit a two-out double for two RBI, but slipped and rolled his ankle when he came in to score on a throwing error by the catcher. In his final plate appearance, he was hit on the arm with a 93 mph fastball. He stayed in the game, but it a was a pretty rough game for the shortstop.
Carter Cunningham had one of the best games of his career, going 4-5 with four singles and four RBI. Dub Gleed also drove in four. Sticking with the rule of fours, J.R. Freethy walked four times and scored four times.
Landen Maroudis started the game, going two and two-thirds innings with four hits allowed, one earned run, two walks, and three strikeouts. Gilberto Batista appeared in relief, striking out four while allowing two earned runs in two and one-third innings. Carson Pierce made the save, allowing two earned runs, three walks, and three strikeouts in two and two-thirds innings pitched.

Javen Coleman will be promoted sooner rather than later

The main storyline from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ 4-3 loss to the Portland Sea Dogs is that Javen Coleman is going to see big league action at some point this season. The lefty came into the game in the seventh, struck out the side, then struck out another batter in the eighth to throw two perfect innings.
Aside from that, it wasn’t the greatest game for the Fisher Cats. Cutter Coffey hit a double and a triple, but he’s still batting below the Mendoza Line. Jackson Hornung also had a two-hit game, while the Fisher Cats struck out 16 times.

Other notes…

  • The Buffalo Bisons fell 5-4, mustering just five hits. None were of the extra-base variety, but Ryan McCarty hit a two-RBI single. Hayden Juenger struck out three over two innings, while Macko still hasn’t given up a run.
  • There wasn’t a farm system notes for Wednesday’s slate of games, so we’ll add notable stuff here. Rafael Lantigua and Yohendrick Piñango each hit their second home run of the season in Buffalo’s 4-3 win.
  • In their 2-0 win, the first game of the doubleheader, Grant Rogers threw four scoreless innings, while Brendon Little threw a scoreless inning. Charles McAdoo hit his third double of the season as well.
  • The Fisher Cats won Wednesday’s game 11-3 thanks to a five-run second inning. Jace Bohrofen hit his first home run of the season and Eddie Micheletti Jr. hit a double. Austin Marozas picked up the save, going three innings with five strikeouts.
  • Austin Cates started Wednesday’s Vancouver Canadians game, as they lost that one 5-2. Cates allowed three earned runs, striking out and walking four batters. Aaron Munson struck out five in three innings of work. Arjun Nimmala hit a double as the C’s struck out 16 times.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

Featured

News

Breaking News