Similar to most athletes, from the moment Alex Vesia stepped on the diamond, he fell in love with the game of baseball. Vesia is a native of Alpine, a small town in the Cuyamaca Mountains of San Diego County, California. Here he was introduced to the game of baseball at an early age. Vesia's journey was quite intriguing as he demonstrated an unbelievable amount of resiliency in his pursuit of reaching his ultimate goal of earning a spot on a Major League Baseball team roster. Though his quest started in Southern California, his dream to become a professional baseball player would lead him to more places than he could ever imagine.  
 
During Vesia's sophomore year at Steele Canyon High School, he started dreaming and setting goals of playing baseball at a collegiate and professional level. As his passion for baseball grew deeper he dedicated his time to becoming the best baseball player he could be. Towards the end of his senior year, his goal to play at a collegiate level seemed bleak due to no colleges offering him a scholarship at this time. Fortunately, he was surrounded by a supportive coaching staff that believed in his talents. His pitching coach was determined to get him to play at the college level, so he sent out emails to all the college programs on the West Coast.
 
One school responded and it was California State University, East Bay.
 
"It was an easy decision for me to choose East Bay, they were the only school to offer me a scholarship," said Vesia with a grin. "The Head Coach at the time Bob Ralston and Pitching Coach Paul Moore gave me a call and said they wanted me to visit the campus. I had no idea about the Bay Area before heading into that eight-hour drive to Hayward. But I immediately fell in love with the campus and it became one of the best decisions of my life so far. I would not change it for anything."
 
His first day of practice was a day that would stick with Vesia forever. During an intrasquad scrimmage he walked the first three batters he faced. Growing more and more frustrated with with his performance Vesia received some much needed encouragement from his coach.
 
"He approached me after the scrimmage and told me to keep my head up," replied Vesia. "He kept telling me that he loved what he saw in me and that he knew I was a special player. He liked my heart and the fight I put on from the mound. Those word always stuck with me and gave me a huge confidence boost at a very early stage in my collegiate career."
 
As a freshman and sophomore under coach Ralston, Vesia appeared in 27 games where he racked up 12 wins, including three complete games and three shutouts, with over 100 strikeouts through 169 innings tossed. In 2016, as a sophomore he helped guide the Pioneers to a program record 33 wins, a CCAA Tournament runner-up title and a trip to the NCAA West Regionals. He was also awarded CCAA and CSUEB Freshman of the Year in 2015 and earned second-team All-CCAA honors and a West Region selection as a sophomore in 2016.
 
"I grew up so much in those years," remarked Vesia. "We had some talented teams and I was able to show that I belonged on that level. It was really helpful for me to get that kind of valuable experience early in my career. I also really learned to have fun with the sport I love to play."
 
Entering his junior season, Mike Cummins became the head coach of East Bay's baseball program. Vesia would go on to build confidence and momentum through his final two years in Hayward. The southpaw enjoyed his best season at East Bay as a senior, posting an 8-2 record in 78.2 innings. He ranked No. 2 in the CCAA in wins, earned run average, strikeouts, and opponent batting average. His 1.95 ERA is the lowest by a Pioneer pitcher in the CCAA era (among qualified starters), and he rattled off a streak of 45 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run during March and April of 2018. Vesia was twice named CCAA Pitcher of the Week during that stretch.
 


He would go on to cement his place as one of the best hurlers in the history of Pioneer baseball. During the 2018 season he became Cal State East Bay's all-time leader in career wins (24), strikeouts (249), and innings pitched (313.2). He also boasts the 10th-best career ERA in program history at 3.01. Vesia is a two-time All-Region selection, three-time All-CCAA selection and CSUEB's Male Athlete of the Year for 2017-18.
 
"My last two seasons came with plenty of adversity," explained Vesia. "I really had to dig deep within myself and grind it out. But I had a lot of help from my best friend Andrew Fernandez. He was from nearby Castro Valley and his family became my second family and that was huge for me. I remember I struggled at the start of my senior season. I started the year off by losing my first two games and coach Cummins approached me and asked me how did I want to end my final chapter here at East Bay. He told me that I needed to win my next nine starts and I went on to win eight of my next eight starts. Looking back, it showed me the value of surrounding yourself with the right people. East Bay did so much for me and a very huge part of me will always be in Hayward."
 
Vesia dominated during his tenure at East Bay and utilized his time to develop the skillset he needed to become a professional baseball player. This was only the beginning of a long journey for Alex Vesia. Vesia's dreams came true during the 2018 MLB Draft as he was a 17th round pick by the Miami Marlins, making him the 507th overall pick.
 
Vesia was the fourth CSUEB player selected -- and the highest pick -- in the MLB Draft since the program joined the NCAA Division II and the California Collegiate Athletic Association in 2009, joining Devin Grigg (2010), Charlie Sharrer (2013), and Myles Babitt (2016).
 
"It was such an amazing feeling to hear my named get called," expressed Vesia. "I was just looking for an opportunity to continue playing baseball. It didn't matter what pick I was. It had been a huge goal of mine since my sophomore year and to achieve such a major goal was very emotional for me and my family. Truthfully, it wasn't an easy process and it was a long three days waiting to see where I would go. But one thing I knew was that I was ready to challenge myself on the next level."
 
For Vesia, this was just the start of a long quest to reaching his ultimate goal of making a major league roster. This road to earning a spot on a major league club was unlike any road he had traveled before. The long bus rides of the minor league systems, games everyday, nearly no days off, constant adversity was all a lifestyle that Vesia had been entrenched to.
 
His first stop was in West Palm Beach were he spent just over a month at the Miami Marlins training facility. His rookie campaign began with him playing for the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York Penn League where he finished the season with a 3-0 record, 1.82 ERA and 31 strikeouts.
 
From there he was invited to the 2019 Minor League Spring Training in Florida and had the opportunity to move up to Low-A ball where he played for the Clinton Lumberkings of the Midwest League in Iowa. Vesia was very productive through 19 games posting a 1-2 record with a 2.56 ERA, 51 strikeouts and three saves.
 
At the All-Star break in 2019, Vesia was called to move up to High-A ball which took him back to Florida to join the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League. Vesia once again showed his hard work was paying off as he compiled a 4-0 record with a 1.93 ERA, 24 strikeouts and one save.


 
A few months later Vesia got the call to move up to Double-A ball to become a member of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the Southern League. He continued to improve his game and impress scouts as he finished the season with a 2-0 record, a 0.00 ERA after not allowing any runs scored through nine games of action to go along with 25 strikeouts and one save.
 
In October of 2019, Vesia made the jump to the Arizona Fall League which is a league comprised of six teams with about five to eight prospects from each team in the MLB. He appeared in nine total games where once again he did not allow any runs scored and finished with a 0.00 ERA. For his efforts he earned AFL Rising Star recognition and was named to the MLB.com Organization All-Star team.
 
"My time going through the entire minor league system was awesome," Vesia explained. "It was amazing getting a chance to play under the lights. The entire experience was a grind with very few days off. We had long bus rides from city to city and the lifestyle took some time to get used to. In the Arizona Fall League I got a chance to pitch against some of the top talented prospects from around the world. It really gave me a chance to see what I was made of. It was a necessary test for me to face future big leaguers and I feel it prepared me for my next phase in life."
 
At the start of 2020, Vesia was invited to the Miami Marlins major league spring training. With his mechanics steadily improving Vesia was continuing to hit his stride with a great training camp. After proving himself against big leaguers and adjusting well to the clubhouse, his next step was Captain's Camp. Captain's Camp is an eight-day seminar for future major league prospects. In this forum players go through several one-on-one meetings with various players and personnel. They are able to pick the brains of some the of best baseball minds in the game as well as attend specialist and professionalism training sessions.
 
Upon his return to spring training, during a Thursday afternoon game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Vesia and his teammates were informed by a team trainer that the season would be cancelled until further notice due to COVID-19. So many emotions and feelings entrenched so many members of the team. The shear uncertainty of the situation was tough for the entire team to understand.
 
Derek Jeter, Chief Executive Officer of the Miami Marlins, called a team meeting that Sunday to inform all the players what the organization's plans were moving forward. He encouraged everyone to go home and spend time with family and friends.
 
"I was shocked to hear the news at first," expressed Vesia. "There were so many what if's going through me mind. Where do I go? How can I train in these conditions? I spoke with some of the guys on the team about their plans to help me with my decision. I'll admit it was a little frustrating at first because I was really beginning to build great chemistry with the guys in the clubhouse and our new pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. Then I immediately realized that this entire situation was bigger than baseball and it's important for me to be around my family during this current state of affairs."
 
Despite the setback COVID-19 has caused in Vesia's goals of making a major league roster, he is still doing everything in his power to keep his skills sharp and his mind focused. Vesia has continue to work to stay in shape and prepared, as he has constructed his own workout center in his parent's garage complete with a homemade pitching station. Vesia is determined to stay ready to achieve his ultimate goal of securing a roster spot with a big league club. Prior the COVID-19 pandemic, Vesia felt he was closer than ever to achieving his goals. The taste that he received during spring training has ensured him that he possesses the skills necessary to be successful at this level and the hunger to continue his fight to accomplish his dreams.
 
"That Monday morning when I returned home I asked my parents would they mind if I turned their garage into my personal workout center," Vesia said jokingly. "They gave me a bit of a hard time but they ultimately gave me the green light. So after a trip to the sporting goods store for some workout equipment, I began developing a routine. To help with my pitching I began throwing into a memory foam mattress with a blanket over it to help stop the ball. It works perfect and the ball always rolls back to me. It's not the ideal setup but it allows me to continue working on my craft. I'm ultimately just thankful for the opportunity to play this game."