After spending the first month of the 2026 season on the injured list, right-hander Silvano Hechavarria made his first start on Sunday since his breakout ’25 campaign.

Hechavarria returned to action with Single-A Dunedin, making the first start of his rehab assignment now that he’s officially recovered from the right elbow soreness that plagued him last fall and throughout spring training. The 23-year-old took the mound against the Jupiter Hammerheads — the Miami Marlins’ affiliate — and dazzled over four perfect innings, retiring all 12 batters he faced on a super-efficient 37 pitches (28 strikes).

This dominating performance included a pair of strikeouts, both in the first two innings of the contest, starting with Jupiter’s leadoff hitter.

Hechavarria, ranked as the Blue Jays organization’s No. 14 prospect per MLB Pipeline, stuck with a fastball-heavy approach in his season debut, throwing his four-seamer just over half the time and having it sit 95.6 m.p.h. during his outing. He also featured his high-80s cutter and mid-80s changeup, the latter of which induced a pair of whiffs on three swings — both resulting in his two strikeouts.

It was a remarkable start to the year for the rising pitching prospect, who’s entering his second professional campaign in North America. After signing with the franchise as an international free agent out of Cuba in 2024, he made 10 starts in the Dominican Summer League — excelling to a sub-two ERA with a strikeout rate close to 30 per cent — before travelling stateside last season, where he logged 19 appearances (14 starts) across three levels (the Florida Complex League, Single-A and High-A).

All it took was four complex league games (three starts) before Hechavarria forced his way to Single-A Dunedin. Initially, the young righty logged more innings as a bulk reliever than as a traditional starter. But once they handed him the keys to a starting role, he ran with the opportunity, pitching to a 0.39 ERA and 1.94 FIP in five starts before advancing to High-A Vancouver, issuing 26 strikeouts and only five walks in 23.0 innings.

By the time Hechavarria arrived to the West Coast in mid-August, there was only enough time to make a handful of starts. While he laboured at times down the stretch, he ended on a high note in the final of his four outings with the Canadians, racking up a season-high seven strikeouts across 5.1 innings of two-run ball.

Now that he’s healthy again, it shouldn’t be long before one of last season’s biggest development stories returns to Vancouver looking to pick up where he left off.

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