Victor Francisco Vodnik (born October 9, 1999) 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

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 ...

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 2023.

Career

Vodnik grew up in

Rialto, California Rialto is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 56 miles east of Los Angeles, near the Cajon Pass, Interstate 15, Interstate 10, State Route 210 and Metrolink routes. Its population was 104,026 as of the 2020 Census, u ...

and attended

Rialto High School Rialto High School is a public high school located in San Bernardino, California that opened in September 1992. It is operated by the Rialto Unified School District, and is a member of the San Andreas. The name of the school's student-run newsp ...

. As a senior, he had a 5–4 record with a 2.84 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.

Atlanta Braves

Vodnik was selected by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in the 14th round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

, and joined the Braves organization for a signing bonus of $200,000. He was assigned to the Rookie League Gulf Coast League Braves after signing with the team. Vodnik spent the 2019 season with the Class A

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team served ...

and made 23 appearances with three starts, compiling a 1–3 record and three saves with a 2.94 ERA and 69 strikeouts over 67+¹⁄₃ innings pitched. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to COVID-19, he was added to Atlanta's alternate training site on September 3, 2020. Vodnik was assigned to the Mississippi Braves of the Double-A South, where he made 11 starts and had a 5.35 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 33+²⁄₃ innings pitched while missing time due to injury. After the minor league season ended Vodnik joined the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League. After pitching for Mississippi in May 2022, Vodnik was promoted to the Gwinnett Stripers later that month.

Colorado Rockies

On July 24, 2023, Vodnik, alongside Tanner Gordon, was traded to the

in exchange for

Pierce Johnson Pierce William Johnson (born May 10, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres and ...

. He registered a 7.71 ERA across 8 appearances for the Triple–A Albuquerque Isotopes, as well as 4 scoreless appearances for the Double–A

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain R ...

prior to his promotion. On September 8, Colorado selected Vodnik's contract to the

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 ...

and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vodnik, Victor 1999 births Living people Baseball players from Whittier, California Major League Baseball pitchers Colorado Rockies players Gulf Coast Braves players Rome Braves players Mississippi Braves players Peoria Javelinas players Gwinnett Stripers players Hartford Yard Goats players Albuquerque Isotopes players