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Blue Jays farm system notes (April 4): Karson Ligon dominates in professional debut
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Photo credit: © Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ryley Delaney
Apr 5, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 5, 2026, 14:25 EDT
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There were a whole lot of storylines from the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system on Saturday.
Thanks to several postponements, the four Blue Jays’ “A” affiliates played a total of six games. The Triple-A Buffalo Bisons split their doubleheader, as did the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays. After a 13 inning game on Friday, the Fisher Cats got their first win of the season, while the Vancouver Canadians were shutout.
Let’s look at the farm system notes from April 4th.

Patrick Corbin makes rehab start

Just like when Trey Yesavage started for the D-Jays on Friday, the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday saw a major leaguer start for them. This time, it was the recently signed Patrick Corbin.
Signed because the starting rotation has been ravaged by injuries, Corbin looks like he could join the Blue Jays sooner rather than later, as he threw five innings with one unearned run allowed and nine strikeouts. Overall, he threw 74 pitches, 54 of which were for strikes.
Corbin won the World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019, but struggled after signing a five-year deal with the Nats. Last season, the left-handed starter pitched for the Texas Rangers, where he authored a 4.40 ERA and 4.25 FIP in 155.1 innings pitched.
He wouldn’t be a bad addition with a depleted starting rotation.

Nolan Perry returns, Karson Ligon dominates in debut

Looking at the other pitching performances from the doubleheader, Trace Baker followed Corbin to make his professional debut. Over two innings of work, Baker struck out four in two scoreless innings for his first career save as the D-Jays won 5-1. His fastball sat at 93.4 mph, with his low-80s slider generating three whiffs on six total swings.
The other game of the doubleheader had some notable pitching performances as well, as the D-Jays fell 4-2 in extra innings. Nolan Perry made his first appearance since August 2024, going three and two-thirds innings with four strikeouts, two walks, and an earned run against. Perry generated nine whiffs, with his fastball averaging 94.4 mph.
However, the best pitching performance of the day belonged to Karson Ligon, who struck out eight over four innings of work. Ligon, a 2025 draft pick making his debut, also walked two batters and gave up an unearned run. Ligon’s heater sat 95.7 mph and reached 98 mph, generating 12 whiffs on 23 total swings for a 52 whiff%. 
Lluveres Severino faced a batter and got an out, while Mason Davenport allowed two unearned runs with two strikeouts.

Yorman Licourt hits two home runs

The batter that stood out in these two games was outfielder Yorman Licourt. In the 5-1 victory, he hit two home runs. Clearly, the Bradenton Marauders were terrified of him in the second game of the doubleheader, as he drew three walks in that game.
There were just three other extra-base hits for the D-Jays in the two games combined. Matt Scannell hit a double in the win, while Dariel Ramon hit a triple in the victory. Eric Snow, a 2025 draftee, hit his first career double in the loss. Snow and Licourt were the two batters who had a multi-hit game.
The D-Jays next game is on Tuesday, as they begin a six-game series against the St. Lucie Mets.

Bisons hit a bunch of extra-base hits in doubleheader split

From the lowest “A” affiliate to players on the cusp of the big leagues, the Buffalo Bisons played a doubleheader against the Omaha Storm, winning the first game 8-0 and losing the second 6-4.
The victory saw Yohendrick Piñango hit his first home run of the season, with the homer travelling a distance of 411 feet and coming off the bat at 103.3 mph. Rafael Lantigua hit his first home run in the Blue Jays’ system since September 18th, 2024, which came off the bat at 94.6 mph.
Also in this game, Eloy Jiménez hit his first double of the season, as did Carlos Mendoza. Josh Kasevich hit his second double of the season, as the team totalled 10 hits. On the pitching side of things, Chase Dallas went three and one-third scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Jesse Hahn also struck out two, while Michael Plassmeyer struck out three in two scoreless innings.
In the loss, Kasevich hit his third double of the season, while RJ Schreck hit his first triple. The biggest hit of the game for the Bisons belonged to Josh Rivera, who hit his first home run of the season to get the Bisons back to within two. They ultimately fell short.
Devereaux Harrison made the start, allowing four earned runs in two and one-third innings pitched. Yariel Rodríguez struck out a batter in a scoreless inning and two-thirds. Chase Lee struggled with command, giving up three walks as he gave up two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. Tanner Andrews got the final four outs.

Eddie Micheletti Jr. hits second home run in as many days

One player poised for a breakout this season is Eddie Micheletti Jr., who hit his first Double-A home run on Friday. Well, he was back at it with his second home run of the season. It was a two-run blast, which is all the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats needed in a 2-1 victory.
That was one of just three hits for the team, as their pitching was terrific. Richard Gallardo, selected in the minor league portion of the 2024 Rule 5 draft, threw four scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Alex Amalfi struck out four in three and two-thirds innings. Picking up the save was Caleb Freeman, who also struck out four in an inning and a third, but gave up an earned run.

Canadians shutout, Daniel Guerra has strong season debut

Lastly, the High-A Vancouver Canadians are still hunting for their first victory of the season, as they fell 1-0 to the Tri-City Dust Devils. Their lone extra-base hit belonged to Mathieu Vallee, who hit two of the Canadians’ five hits. Arjun Nimmala hit a single, as did Maddox Latta and Manuel Beltre.
The standout of this game was the Canadians’ pitching. Daniel Guerra, who broke out toward the end of the 2025 season, went four and one-third innings with one earned run allowed. He struck out six, allowed four hits, and walked a batter. Danny Thompson made his High-A debut striking out five in three and one-third innings. Jonathan Todd struck out the lone batter he faced.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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