Vinny Capra

Vincent James Capra

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 175 lb.
• School Eastern Florida State College, University of Richmond
• High School Melbourne Central Catholic High School
• Debut May 1, 2022

• Born July 7, 1996 in Melbourne, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Utility player Vinny Capra was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 20th round of the 2018 amateur draft, out of the University of Richmond. He hit .356 and .327 in his two years at Richmond, and would likely have been drafted higher had he been taller than 5' 8".

He began his professional career in 2018, splitting his time between the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League and the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League, hitting a combined .248/.336/.363 in 64 games. He followed that up in 2019 by moving up to AA and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League. In 110 games, he .229/.295/.309 while seeing time at third base, second base and shortstop, as well as in the outfield. He then missed all of 2020 when the minor leagues were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic, and it's fair to say that he did not appear to have much of a future beyond that of a helpful spare part in the minors at that point. However, he had an excellent season for New Hampshire in 2021, batting .327/.396/.548 in 74 games, slugging 17 doubles and 10 homers and driving in 58 runs. He was originally a back-up for the Fisher Cats, filling in where needed, but his strong hitting earned him regular playing time, followed by a late-season promotion to the AAA Buffalo Bisons.

He started the 2022 season at Buffalo and did well over the first three weeks, batting .304 with 3 homers and 10 games. Shortly after the Blue Jays had to place Cavan Biggio on the COVID list, he was called up to Toronto and on May 1st was inserted into the starting line-up in left field against the Houston Astros. In his debut, he went 0 for 2 before giving way to Raimel Tapia for defensive reasons in a game the Jays won, 3-2. He collected his first major league hit as a pinch-hitter for catcher Zack Collins against lefty Brooks Raley of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 8th inning on May 13th. Two batters later, he came in to score the tying run on a single by Raimel Tapia. Overall, he went 1 for 5 in 8 games for the Blue Jays, before going back to Buffalo, where he hit .283 in 52 games. Injuries prevented him from returning to Toronto, and he had rehabilitation assignments in the Florida State League and Florida Complex League in addition to his time in Buffalo.

He started 2023 back with the Bisons, hitting .167 in his first 17 games. On April 30th, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in return for C Tyler Heineman, a former Blue Jay. The Bucs assigned him to their own AAA team, the Indianapolis Indians

Both his older brother Nick and twin brother John played college baseball, although neither made it to the professional ranks. He is not related to either Buzz Capra or Nick Capra, who played in the 1970s and 1980s respectively.

Related Sites

• Vinny Capra on mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• University of Richmond bio