Liebel was a third-round draft choice of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2008.  He spent four seasons in Toronto’s system, progressing quickly to Double-A New Hampshire in 2009.  Liebel split the 2011 season across three levels, going 4-4 with a 4.33 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched. There will be at least two faces familiar to Liebel for his first venture into independent baseball; he reunites with Pheasants catcher Al Quintana, a former teammate in the Blue Jays system. Pheasants pitcher Cody Evans was a college teammate with Liebel at Long Beach State, where Liebel was a 2008 National Pitcher of the Year Candidate and Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year.