He hasn’t allowed a run in 35 innings. Could this prospect be Marlins’ future closer?
Alex Vesia had been trying to make the same mechanical adjustments since he was in high school.
The relief pitcher was a star at Steele Canyon High School in Spring Valley, California, and he went to a Division II school for four years, trying to refine his craft.
It ended with him being selected in the 18th round of the 2018 MLB draft by the Miami Marlins.
In less than two years, Vesia transformed from afterthought into one of the best relief pitchers in the minor leagues. He ended the 2019 season with 16 1/3 shutout innings for Double A Jacksonville and followed it up with 10 1/3 scoreless frames in the Arizona Fall League.
“He’s a guy that’s been on a run,” manager Don Mattingly said.
In all, Vesia hasn’t allowed a run in the last 35 competitive innings he has pitched, beginning with nine consecutive scoreless frames to end his time with Class A-Advanced Jupiter in 2019.
Less than two years after he was selected in the back half of the MLB draft, Vesia landed a non-roster invitation to spring training in Jupiter and has a chance to make an impression with a team in desperate need for relief pitching.
After making his way through three levels from Class A Clinton to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2019, Vesia’s journey could carry him all the way to the Majors in 2020.
It began with refining his mechanics. The left-handed pitcher had spent years emphasizing his front-side mechanics, making sure he was following through all the way through with his over-the-top delivery. His fastball command improved rapidly and results followed.
He posted just a 6.34 ERA in 65 1/3 innings as a junior at D-II California State, East Bay. In his first full professional season last year, Vesia put up a 1.76 ERA in 66 2/3.
“I honestly don’t think I showed reliever stuff or potential until this year,” Vesia said.
Now his fastball, which tops out in the mid-90s, is an effective set-up for his changeup. The effective two-pitch mix — paired with a curveball — makes him a candidate to join the Major League bullpen at some point in 2020 and sets him up as a potential long-term closer option. Fangraphs pegs Vesia as the No. 21 prospect in the organization and its top-ranked relief prospect. Although he technically pitched out of the bullpen half the time as a senior at Cal State East Bay, it was only because the Pioneers often used an opener. Vesia didn’t transition into a reliever until he began pitching professionally.
The current composition of Miami’s bullpen sets up for Vesia to help sooner rather than later. The Marlins last year had the only bullpen with negative wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs, and six relief pitchers — Brandon Kintzler, Ryne Stanek, Drew Steckenrider, Adam Conley, Yimi Garcia and Rule 5 draft-pick Sterling Sharp — are on Major League deals, which leaves two more bullpen spots open. Vesia is going up against more experienced competition, but the 23-year-old’s age and rapid improvement could make him a fixture in the bullpen for years moving forward.
“You start looking at some of the moves we’ve made with the roster recently tells you the confidence that the organization has in a guy like him,” Mattingly said.
Marlins sign Boxberger to minors deal
Miami added one more experienced arm to its bullpen Friday. Relief pitcher Brad Boxberger arrived at Roger Dean Stadium for the third day of spring training workouts as the newest reliever trying to earn a spot in the Marlins’ uncertain bullpen.
The right-handed pitcher, who spent part of last season with the Kansas City Royals, is joining Miami on a minor-league deal with hopes of recapturing past success and grabbing one of the final openings on the roster.
“I just need to go out there and show what I can do,” Boxberger said. “It’s a new year this year. I’m just getting back to my old form. I kind of made some adjustments this offseason and I feel like I’m back where I need to be.”
The righty was an All-Star with the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2015, when he led the American League with 41 saves. Injuries plagued his final two seasons in St. Petersburg, though, and the Rays traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead of the 2018 season. Boxberger racked up 32 saves in his lone season with the Diamondbacks, but posted a 4.39 ERA and settled for a one-year deal with the Royals last offseason. The reliever struggled through 29 appearances with a 5.40 ERA and Kansas City released him. He got one unfruitful minor-league deal with the Washington Nationals, then another with the Cincinnati Reds before spending the final month of the regular season out of baseball.
Since his time with the Reds ended, Boxberger has tried to sort out his release point. He said
“Over time it’s just kind of changed and just getting back to an original release point from a couple years prior to everything,” Boxberger said. “It’s definitely from what I’ve seen this offseason, it’s made my ball playing more true to what it normally is.”
Remembering Parkland
On the two-year anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the Marlins held a moment of silence at 10:17 a.m. to remember the victims.
A group of players and staff members, including outfielder Lewis Brinson and minor league outfield coordinator Juan Pierre, traveled down to Parkland in the afternoon for a community-service event.
