Darius Marque Vines (born April 30, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Vines attended St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura, California. He was the '' Ventura County Star'' Player of the Year his senior year in 2016. He was drafted by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

in the 32nd round of the

2016 Major League Baseball Draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, but did not sign and played college baseball at

Oxnard College Oxnard College is a public community college in Oxnard, California. It was established in 1975 by the Ventura County Community College District. It serves the Oxnard Plain cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, and Port Hueneme. Oxnard College offers both ...

. He was then drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in the 27th round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

but again did not sign and transferred to Yavapai College. In 2019 Vines transferred to California State University, Bakersfield. After one year at Bakersfield, he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB draft and signed.

Professional career

Vines spent his first professional season with the rookie–level Gulf Coast Braves and rookie–level Danville Braves. In 12 games (11 starts), he struggled to an 0–5 record and 6.68 ERA with 35 strikeouts in innings of work. Vines did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to action in 2021, splitting the year between the Single–A Augusta GreenJackets and High–A Rome Braves. In 22 starts between the two affiliates, Vines pitched to a 6–4 record and 2.92 ERA with 129 strikeouts across 111 innings pitched. Vines began the 2022 season with the Double–A Mississippi Braves before receiving a promotion to the Triple–A Gwinnett Stripers later in the year. In 27 combined games (25 starts), he registered an 8–4 record and 3.77 ERA with 156 strikeouts in innings of work. On November 15, 2022, the Braves added Vines to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Vines was optioned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers to begin the 2023 season. On August 28, 2023, Vines was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He faced the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

two days later, pitching six innings, yielding two earned runs, and recording the win in his debut. At the end of the 2023 regular season, Vines pitched 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 ...

of the Arizona Fall League. Vines was optioned to Triple–A Gwinnett to begin the 2024 season. On April 12, Vines was called up to the Braves' roster to replace

Allan Winans Allan Lee Winans (born August 10, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023. Career Amateur career Winans graduated from Frontier High School (Bakersf ...

. Following two starts for the Braves, Vines was optioned to Triple–A on April 22. On July 29, Vines was designated for assignment by the Braves. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Double–A Mississippi on August 2.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vines, Darius 1998 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball players from Oxnard, California Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners baseball players Danville Braves players Florida Complex League Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Mississippi Braves players Oxnard Condors baseball players Rome Braves players Walla Walla Sweets players Yavapai Roughriders baseball players