Nicholas Anthony Vespi (born October 10, 1995) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

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 in 2022.

Career

Vespi 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 pl ...

Palm Beach State College Palm Beach State College is a public college in Lake Worth, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Palm Beach State College enrolls nearly 27,000 students in over 100 programs of study including bachelor of applied science, associa ...

. He was drafted by the

in the 18th round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

. Vespi made his professional debut with the

Gulf Coast Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home ...

. He split the 2016 season with the GCL Orioles and Low-A

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

, registering a 5-1 record and 1.88 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched across 13 games (10 starts). In 2017, Vespi split time between Aberdeen and the Single-A

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shore ...

, posting a 4-3 record and 4.41 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 49.0 innings of work. Vespi spent the following two seasons with Single–A Delmarva. In 2018, he logged a 6–6 record and 2.09 ERA with 68 strikeouts and 9 saves across innings. In 2019, Vespi logged an 8–6 record and 3.16 ERA with a career–high 100 strikeouts in 91 innings pitched. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Vespi returned to action in 2021, recording a 4.19 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 30 relief outings for Norfolk and the Double–A

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

. Vespi was called up to the majors for the first time on May 17, 2022. Vespi made his Major League debut on May 20, pitching two innings for the Orioles in an extra innings game against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

, striking out three, giving up no runs, and being credited with his first career MLB win. He made 25 total appearances for the Orioles in 2022, logging a 5-0 record 4.10 ERA with 28 strikeouts across 26.1 innings pitched. On January 5, 2023, Vespi underwent hernia surgery. Vespi was optioned to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

to begin the 2023 season. In 9 appearances for the Orioles, he recorded a 4.30 ERA with 9 strikeouts across innings pitched.

International career

On December 16, 2022, Vespi announced that he had been selected to represent

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vespi, Nick 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Miami Major League Baseball pitchers Baltimore Orioles players Palm Beach State Panthers baseball players Gulf Coast Orioles players Aberdeen IronBirds players Delmarva Shorebirds players Bowie Baysox players Norfolk Tides players Mesa Solar Sox players