Andrew Vasquez

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Andrew Jude Vasquez
(The Dragon)

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Andrew Vasquez began his career in the Minnesota Twins' system in 2015 after having been drafted in the 32nd round of the 2015 amateur draft out of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He had fallen that far as his 2014 season had been interrupted after just 6 games, and he hadn't been able to pitch at all in college his draft year. A sign that he was considered a good prospect was that he had already been drafted once previously, in the 44th round of the 2011 amateur draft by the Kansas City Royals after he graduated from high school.

He was used almost exclusively as a reliever by the Twins and reached the majors as a September call-up in 2019 after combining for an ERA of 1.30 in 40 games between Class A, AA and AAA that season. In his first taste of the majors, he gave up 4 runs in 5 innings spread over 9 outings, but still picked up a win. He was being groomed as a future LOOGY, but his career hit a snag in 2019 when he was demoted from AAA to AA, had to make a rehabilitation outing in the Gulf Coast League, after failing to retire a single batter in his only major league outing on April 10th: he gave up two walks and a hit batsman, and all three New York Mets batters came around to score, giving him an infinite ERA.

He was unable to pitch in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the minors, then in 2021 pitched 33 times for the St. Paul Saints, the Twins' new AAA affiliate, going 4-0, 3.61. On August 31st, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a minor league deal and finished the year by pitching 6 times for the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers, and twice more with the major league Dodgers, giving up one unearned run in 1 2/3 innings. In 2022, he was on the move continually, first being signed as a free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays in February, then being picked up successively on waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants in August, and finally being claimed once again by the Phillies after the season. Between the moves, he got into 9 games with the Jays, putting up an ERA of 8.10, and pitched 2 scoreless innings in his only appearance for the Giants. In the minors, he was with four different teams, including three in AAA, and went 7-0, 2.23 in 29 games, which explains why major league were always willing to give him a look in spite of his lack of success at the top level thus far.

In 2023, he finally got an extended look in the show, pitching 30 times for the Phillies and doing well, going 2-1, 2.27. Still he was placed on waivers again shortly after the trading deadline, due to a numbers crunch and this time was picked up by the Detroit Tigers. He did not do as well with the Bengals, with an ERA of 8.31 in 12 games, and ended up back in AAA for 7 games with the Toledo Mud Hens, where his ERA was 1.35 (athough that was due to 4 of the 5 runs he gave up in 6 2/3 innings being unearned). He became a free agent after the season, but the Tigers were satisfied enough with his performance that they re-signed him and he was to spring training in 2024 as a non-roster invitee.

Along the line, he had earned the nickname "The Dragon", for his habit of hissing loudly while delivering his pitches, something he says he has done since junior college and which comes naturally. As a 6' 6" left-hander who throws sidearm, he stands out anyway, but even if the initial plan had been to make him a specialist lefty reliever, the introduction of the three-batter minimum rule at the major league level and his success in the minors turned him into more of an all-purpose reliever.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jason Beck: "How did Vasquez become 'The Dragon'? He sounds like one", mlb.com, March 2, 2024. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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