Alex Vesia has emerged as Dodgers’ top left-handed reliever

LOS ANGELES ― Spring grooming had conscionable commenced erstwhile the Dodgers’ pitching coach, Mark Prior, made a funny information to capable the relation of the team’s apical left-handed alleviation pitcher: Alex Vesia.

The thought seemed to beryllium much connected a wish, a supplication and a scouting study than reality. Vesia’s show to that constituent successful his large league vocation was little and underwhelming.

The 25-year-old from Spring Valley, adjacent San Diego, had ne'er thrown a transportation supra Double-A earlier helium debuted with the Miami Marlins successful July 2020. In 5 large league games, helium had allowed 10 runs crossed 4-1/3 innings. Fourteen of the 27 batters helium faced reached base, including 3 who deed a location run.

This was the pitcher the Dodgers targeted successful a funny February trade, erstwhile Miami sent Vesia and a low-level imaginable to Los Angeles for Dylan Floro. Floro, a seasoned right-hander, is presently the Marlins’ closer.

Now Prior’s prediction is proving prescient. Since helium returned from Triple-A successful July, Vesia has allowed a tally successful lone 3 of his 26 appearances retired of the bullpen. His ERA is simply a dashing 2.52.

On Wednesday, Manager Dave Roberts was asked to place which reliever helium would prime to look left-handed opponents successful late-game, high-leverage situations. He chose Vesia.

“If you look astatine the roster, Alex Vesia has emerged arsenic a feline I spot who gets lefties out, gets righties out,” Roberts said. “He’s pitched successful large spots.”

Using thing Vesia did past play successful a Marlins azygous to task his aboriginal show comes with 1 large caveat: It wasn’t truly him.

Vesia made his debut connected July 25 successful Philadelphia. The adjacent time helium contracted COVID-19, portion of a team-wide outbreak. His symptoms were mild, but his edifice enactment was extended to 25 days arsenic a precaution. During his quarantine period, Vesia said helium didn’t throw, run, oregon enactment out.

“I came backmost and I was (throwing) similar 90, 91, possibly 92 (mph),” Vesia said. “In (2019) I was 93-95. That’s wherever I felt that I was astatine my best. This twelvemonth it’s dilatory crept up a small bit.”

In a caller crippled against the San Diego Padres, Vesia struck retired Eric Hosmer with a four-seam fastball, thigh-high crossed the extracurricular borderline of location plate. At 97 mph, it was the fastest transportation Vesia has thrown successful a large league game. He attributed his leap successful velocity to simply having a afloat play of regular enactment connected the mound – thing helium did not instrumentality for granted aft his 2020 adventure.

Even much than his carnal improvements, Vesia said his intelligence outlook has allowed him to marque the biggest leap successful the past year.

“I was hard connected myself,” helium said. “I expect to spell retired determination to compete, to enactment up zeros, to walk it to the adjacent feline … to triumph a ballgame. At a mates of those points, I wasn’t doing it.”

Vesia’s Dodgers debut did not spell well. He faced 7 batters connected May 1 successful Milwaukee. Four walked. Two scored. Within a week, helium was backmost successful Triple-A with an ERA of 9.00.

At Oklahoma City, Vesia was capable to destruct immoderate of the variables that confounded him earlier. His appearances were predetermined. He was allowed to transportation astatine the opening of innings, with nary runners connected base.

That empowered him to spot the crippled program the Dodgers had presented him successful outpouring grooming – a antithetic analytical prescription, Vesia said, than the 1 helium received from the Marlins.

“It was maine and the catcher,” helium said. “That was precise chill to person that passageway vision: it doesn’t substance if there’s a large crowd, if there’s a small crowd, what team, what batter. If I execute my pitch, bully things are going to happen.”

For Vesia, the enactment from Prior’s outpouring grooming prediction to September was hardly straight. A tiny but beardown cheering conception has followed it each the way.

Vesia is the Dodgers’ clubhouse person successful 1 category: astir fans greeted aft each location game. It’s an eclectic radical of friends and household from Spring Valley, and friends who person transplanted to Southern California from Cal State East Bay, wherever Vesia attended college. He does not instrumentality their beingness for granted.

“I emotion it,” helium said. “It’s not conscionable astir me. It’s astir them too. They’ve been down maine since Day 1.”

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Dodgers (RHP Walker Buehler, 14-3, 2.32 ERA) astatine Cincinnati (RHP Luis Castillo, 7-15, 4.24 ERA), Friday, 4:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM