Alexander Victor Vesia (born April 11, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2020.

Early life

Vesia was born in

Alpine, California Alpine is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Cuyamaca Mountains of San Diego County, California. Alpine had a population of 14,696 at the 2020 census, up from 14,236 at the 2010 census. The town is largely surrounded by the Cleveland Nation ...

, to Bob and Cindy. He attended Steele Canyon High School in Spring Valley, California, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. In 2014, his senior year, he earned All-East County honors. Undrafted in the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

, he enrolled at

California State University, East Bay California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

College career

In 2015, Vesia's freshman season at Cal State East Bay, he started 12 games in which he went 5–4 with a 2.18 ERA over innings, earning

California Collegiate Athletic Association The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its current members are public universities, and upon U ...

Freshman of the Year honors. As a sophomore in 2016, he made 15 starts, going 7–5 with a 3.30 ERA, striking out 64 batters in innings, earning All-CCAA Second Team honors. That summer, he played in the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college el ...

for the Mankato MoonDogs. In 2017, Vesia's junior year, he appeared in 14 games (nine starts), pitching to a 4–6 record with a 4.82 ERA. Following the season, he played in the Alaska Baseball League for the

Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate summer baseball team which was founded in 1960 as an independent barnstorming team. The Goldpanners were charter members of the Alaska Baseball League at the league's inception in 1974. The ...

. As a senior at Cal State East Bay in 2018, he pitched in 14 games (making seven starts) while going 8–2 with a 1.94 ERA and was named to the All-CCAA First Team. After his senior season, he was selected by the Miami Marlins in the 17th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.

Professional career

Miami Marlins

Vesia signed with Miami, making his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Marlins before earning a promotion to the

Batavia Muckdogs The Batavia Muckdogs are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). They are located in Batavia, a city in Genesee County, New York, United States. Their home field is Dwyer Stadium in the city of ...

. Over relief innings pitched with the two clubs, he went 4–0 with a 1.35 ERA and 38 strikeouts. In 2018, Vesia began the year with the

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

before earning a promotion to the

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

in June and the

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

in August. Over relief innings pitched between the three clubs, he went 7–2 with a 1.76 ERA and 100 strikeouts. He was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Scottsdale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility o ...

following the season and was named a Fall League All-Star. On July 22, 2020, it was announced that Vesia had made Miami's 2020 Opening Day roster. He made his MLB debut on July 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 2 and missed the rest of the season. He pitched a total of innings for the Marlins in 2020 in which he gave up nine earned runs and seven walks while striking out five.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 12, 2021, the Marlins traded Vesia and Kyle Hurt to the

in exchange for

Dylan Floro Dylan Lee Floro (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers. He pla ...

. On July 31, 2021, Vesia recorded his first career

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

win against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

. On September 21, 2021, Vesia recorded his first MLB save against the Colorado Rockies. He spent a majority of the 2021 season in the major leagues with the Dodgers with whom he pitched a total of forty innings over 41 games with a 3-1 record, a 3.86 ERA, and 54 strikeouts during the season. Vesia pitched in two games of the

2021 NLDS The 2021 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams of the 2021 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners, seeded first through thir ...

and five of the six games of the

2021 NLCS The 2021 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven series in Major League Baseball (MLB) between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the National League pennant and the right to play in the 2021 World Series. The B ...

, allowing only one run on five hits and three walks while striking out seven in innings. He pitched a total of nine innings with the

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ba ...

when not with Los Angeles. In 2022, Vesia pitched in 63 games, for a 5–0 record and 2.15 ERA.

References

External links

Cal State East Bay Pioneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesia, Alex 1996 births Living people Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Los Angeles Dodgers players Cal State East Bay Pioneers baseball players Gulf Coast Marlins players Batavia Muckdogs players Clinton LumberKings players Jupiter Hammerheads players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Salt River Rafters players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players Mankato MoonDogs players