Vesia played one season of Division II college ball before getting selected out of Cal State-East Bay, a California Collegiate Athletic Association team. He started in half of his 14 games while there, going 8-2 with a 1.94 ERA and 82 Ks in 78 2/3 innings, along with a 1.08 WHIP.

June 2018: The Marlins signed LHP Alex Vesia after they chose him in the 17th round, out of Cal State-East Bay. His bonus was $25,000.

2018 season: After signing with the Marlins, Vesia joined the rookie-level, Florida-based GCL Marlins, in the Gulf Coast League. He didn’t allow a run over 8 2/3 innings covering four games while there, with seven whiffs and a .133 opposing batting average. This includes a five-inning appearance on July 13th, when he struck out three and allowed only one hit to earn the 8-1 victory over the GCL Nationals.

On July 20, the Marlins promoted Vesia to the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League. Four days later, he whiffed four in a scoreless three inning appearance, a 7-1 win for the Staten Island Yankees. In his final appearance of the season, on September 2, he struck out six in three scoreless innings in a 5-4 win over the Auburn Doubledays.

While with the Muckdogs, Vesia struck out 31 in 24 2/3 innings, an 11.31 K/9 rate. He achieved this despite an unbelievably bad-luck BABIP of .394. Between the two levels, he walked only seven batters, a 1.89 BB/9 rate, and picked up a 1.140 WHIP.

Vesia is still rostered as part of the Muckdogs, but it’s hard to believe he will stay there for very much longer. He should start the 2019 campaign with the single-A Clinton LumberKings in the Midwest League. It’s likely he joins the high-A Jupiter Hammmerheads in the Florida State League before the end of the season.

2019 season: Over 1,600 players reached 50 innings pitched during the 2019 Minor League Baseball season, from Triple-A all the way down to the various Rookie ball circuits. Out of all of those pitchers, a Marlins prospect ranked sixth overall in terms of strikeout percentage. That prospect is reliever Alex Vesia, a 2018 17th-round draft pick from NCAA Divison II Cal State-East Bay.

Vesia started the year at Single-A Clinton after getting his feet wet with the GCL Marlins and Batavia Muckdogs the previous summer. In 19 appearances, the 23-year-old went 1-2 with a 2.56 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 51:17 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those stats earned him a promotion to High-A Jupiter on June 20, but that would actually turn out to be his worst “slump” all season.

With the Hammerheads Vesia pitched 18 2⁄3 innings, allowing only one walk compared to 24 punch-outs. He picked up one save in two attempts, and finished with a 4-0 record and a 1.93 ERA. Going from strength to strength, Vesia was promoted again on August 1, and did not allow a single run for the rest of the season.

Over 16 1⁄3 frames at Double-A Jacksonville he struck out 25 batters and produced a WHIP of 0.55. Overall, Vesia posted a 1.76 ERA over 66 2⁄3 innings across three levels during the regular season, along with a 38.2 K% and 13.50 K/9. (DGSmith96 - Oct 11, 2019 - SBNation)

For Alexander Victor Vesia, baseball wasn’t always a sure thing. His thing could’ve been literally anything.  “I had a counselor and he asked me what’s your goal? What do you want to do with your life? And my answer was I don’t really know,” Vesia told Erik Oas last season. “It was my freshman year, I didn’t even know what I was going to do the next day.”

That summer, Vesia broke into pitching after school for Steele Canyon High’s JV squad. Quickly, Vesia fell In love. A summer later, he was determined to pitch for his school’s A squad. “My sophomore year I really wanted to make varsity. I felt like I had a good tryout but they put me on JV,” Vesia said. “It wasn’t what I wanted, but I told myself I’d work hard and by the end of the year, I’d be on varsity.”

For the first time, but certainly not the last, Vesia’s dedication paid off, serving as a fitting berth and a perfect precursor to his professional career. “The last game of the season, my coach brought me into the office and asked me, “Do you wanna start?” I was like, “Yeah, absolutely,” Vesia recalled. “I ended up going 5, 6, maybe 7 innings. After that, being out there and feeling the small crowd we had which was big for me, I was like, I want to do this. I wanted to help my parents out with paying for college and getting a degree. But also, I wanted to play baseball.”

Four years later, Vesia had both: a degree and, via a 313.2 IP, 3.01 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 249/106 K/BB stat line at Cal State-East Bay, a future in baseball. The program record holder in strikeouts, wins and innings pitched, Vesia settled on his ultimate passion and entered the 2018 MLB Draft. Thanks to advice imparted on him by his collegiate coach, Vesia knew he wasn’t going to be highly selected, but that he shouldn’t let that decide his future. “Before the draft, Mike Cummins sat me down in his office and he was like, 'You’re not gonna make your money out of the draft, but you’re gonna make your money in the big leagues,'” Vesia said month. “I just wanted the opportunity."

After being signed and breaking into pro ball with a 1.35 ERA via a 1.14 WHIP and 38/7 K/BB for two affiliates in 2018, the exclusive reliever jumped from A to A+ to AA last season, posting a collective 1.76 ERA by way of a 0.94 WHIP and 100/19 K/BB in 66.2 IP. At seasons end, Vesia was invited to participate in the Arizona Fall League. Partaking in nine contests and 10.1 IP very close to his hometown in the San Diego suburbs, Vesia didn’t allow an earned run and struck out 16 while walking only two.

The Marlins took notice of the Vesia’s ability to succeed at multiple levels and against top prospects by inviting him to spring training. Through 6 IP, he hadn’t given up a charged tally. To date, Vesia hasn’t let up an earned run since July 13, 2019, a streak spanning a total of 35 innings. But don’t tell him about it. As a matter of fact, leave numbers completely out of your conversation because Alex isn’t interested. That disinterest doesn’t stem from any sort of superstition or fear of recourse. Instead, Vesia has always viewed his stats as a distraction and a hindrance against keeping the game as streamlined as possible, the strategy that has always served him well.

“In my freshman year of high school, my parents would text me telling me you have this ERA, this many strikeouts. Towards the end of that season, I was like, don’t tell me that. Because when I’d be out on the mound, I’d be thinking about it. So it’s a big thing of mine: I don’t look at any of that stuff.”

No matter what his personal stats looked like the day week or month before, Vesia takes the mound every time with the most uncompounded plan of attack, faith in his stuff and his focus one and only one number: the one in his opponent’s runs column.  

“Being a bulldog out in the mound, grinding through one pitch, one at bat, one inning at a time. I try to simplify it as best as I can. The simpler it is for me, the better. I’m not very complex with my thinking,” Vesia said. “I have one focal point which is the top of the scoreboard at every field. Other than that, the game is the same. That’s been my vision: to get there by trusting my process. Working day in and day out out on the backfields and watching it transfer into games.”

From the moment he began garnering professional interest, Vesia made all of those who came out to watch him a solemn promise: “I told every scout, give me the opportunity and I’m gonna run with it,” he recalled.

Vesia hasn’t run with the opportunity the Marlins have given him — he’s absolutely flown with it, mowing through the competition wherever he’s pitched. Last season, the fastball/change up/slider artist began the season in Clinton. Three months later, he was pitching in A+. Eighteen innings on the mound later, he got the call to AA Jacksonville. According to Vesia, that’s when the reality of his accomplishments hit and things got put into perspective.  “I told my dad and he was like, “Dude, you’re gonna have to hit now!” That’s where it got more real to me because in AA, AAA and the bigs you gotta do that,” Vesia said. “Pitching in AA in front of bigger crowds, I loved it.”

On top of making the jump to AA fluidly, holding down a perfect ERA in nine appearances, Vesia provided the Jumbo Shrimp with a walk-off win in his first career plate appearance. Despite having his offseason shortened twice, Vesia met each of those assignments, Arizona and big league camp, with the same overtly tenacious attitude and the same message to himself that he’s carried with him his entire career. He would not have had any part of the past twelve months any other way.

“Going to the Fall League seeing top prospects — I was like, “Bring it.” I just told myself to make the most of the opportunity. Then getting the call to big league camp I told myself the same,” Vesia said. “I can’t complain any day of the week. I love what I do.”

The Marlins clearly love what Vesia does, as well. All the way through the suspension of spring training Vesia, who has just barely 100 innings of pro ball under his belt, was still battling for a spot in the Marlins’ bullpen. While the club would have to make a few tough decisions and create room on the 40-man roster in order to get the non-roster invitee into that spot, it is apparently a task Miami is pondering performing. Even if Vesia does begin the year in the minors, barring injury, it’s hard to imagine he will be there long. On the precipice of realizing his big league dream, the newly-turned 24-year-old is rightfully impassioned — impassioned but as confident and as focused as ever.

“There isn’t anything I feel like I can’t do. My mom always told me I’m a man on a mission. I truly believe that,” Vesia said holding back a tear. “I get a little emotional about it because this is what I want to do: I want to play on the biggest stage with the guys behind me and we’re competing. It's the coolest feeling in the world and it’s great to see hard work pay off.”  (Miami Herald - Apr. 11, 2020)

TRANSACTIONS

Vesia possesses a mid-upper 90s FASTBALL, has great control of the strike zone, and definitely owns a strikeout pitch. And his fading low-80s changeup is his most effective secondary pitch. He needs to tighten his slurvy curveball to have more success against same-side hitters.

Vesia's fastball gets on hitters quickly thanks to his deceptive delivery and high spin rates that make it appear to defy gravity. He has been more effective against right-handers than left-handers as a pro because his fading changeup is his most effective secondary pitch. He needs to tighten his slurvy curveball to have more success against lefty hitters.

After working to clean up some issues in his delivery while in low Class A, Vesia pounded the strike zone during the second half of his first full season. He has the stuff to become a seventh-inning reliever and perhaps pitch in even higher leverage situations if he can refine his breaking ball. He received a nonroster invitation to Spring Training, another sign that he's on the fast track. (Spring 2020)

A 17th-round Draft pick from Cal State East Bay in 2018, Vesia has put himself in position to be part of the Marlins’ bullpen in 2020. Spanning four Minor League levels, Vesia has an active string of 41 straight innings without allowing a run, dating to last July 13, 2019 at Class A Advanced Jupiter.

Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Marlins’ No. 27 prospect, Vesia kept his scoreless streak going in big league Spring Training, logging six shutout frames in Grapefruit League games. That’s in addition to nine straight scoreless innings at Jupiter, 16 1/3 at Double-A Jacksonville and 10 1/3 in the Arizona Fall League.

If he keeps putting up zeroes, Vesia, 23, could find himself working the ninth, potentially becoming the first primary lefty closer in franchise history. (J Frisaro - MLB.com - April 10, 2020)

His success led to an Opening Day roster spot last season, but he got off to a rough start. In just 4.1 innings pitched, Vesia gave up 9 earned runs, 3 home runs, and 7 walks vs just 5 strikeouts. The sample size in the majors is obviously small, which leaves hope that whatever issues he had can be corrected.  

One thing to note with Alex is that he has some filthy movement on his pitches. His incredible spin rate gives his fastball some late life, and the two-seamer shown below would be an absolutely nasty pitch to try to hit.

2021 Season:  The left-hander did not make the Dodgers’ roster out of Spring Training but he was recalled for one day in April and for two weeks in May.

When the Dodgers acquired him for Dylan Floro, it was a trade that left some confused. During two weeks in May, Vesia didn’t do much to reassure those people as he posted an ERA of 6.52 with 11 walks in his first 9.2 innings.

It led to him getting optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City a few times during the season. But when Vesia was recalled on July 9, he looked like a completely different pitcher.

From his recall to the end of the season, only three pitchers in MLB with at least 20 innings had an ERA lower than Vesia’s 0.92 mark in 29.1 innings.

He only allowed three runs during the second half of the season and became one of Dodgers’ manager Dave Robert’s high-leverage relievers.

Vesia said the demotion to the Minor Leagues helped him clear his head and build his confidence back up, which led to his breakout.

“I feel really confident. I know I’ve put in the hard work and we’re seeing it when the time comes,” Vesia said.

“I just needed some time to get comfortable with it basically. Nothing stood out. I think just clearing my head and building on good inning after good inning after good inning helps. Nothing too crazy. Just kind of building confidence one inning at a time.”

Vesia continued to play a key role for Roberts into the postseason. The left-hander appeared in seven games and struck out seven hitters while only allowing one run, which came in his first postseason outing.

Vesia finished the season throwing 40 innings with a 2.25 ERA, 4.22 FIP, 12.15 strikeouts per nine and 4.95 walks per nine.

Vesia’s highlight of the 2021 season was essentially his entire second half when he was consistently throwing shutout innings with at least one strikeout.

For one specific moment, Vesia pitched 1.2 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies while allowing only one hit and striking out four. He also earned the win as the Dodgers won 5-0.  (Blake Williams - Jan. 8, 2022)