Darius Marque Vines (born April 30, 1998) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

organization. He made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Vines attended

St. Bonaventure High School St. Bonaventure High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational secondary school in Ventura, California, United States. This college preparatory institution was founded on the spiritual ideals of St. Francis of Assisi and the academic ferv ...

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...

. He was the ''

Ventura County Star The ''Ventura County Star'' (Marked online as VC Star) is a daily newspaper published in Camarillo, California and serves all of Ventura County. It is owned by Gannett, the largest publisher of newspapers in the United States. It is a successor t ...

'' Player of the Year his senior year in 2016. He was drafted by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in the 32nd round of the

2016 Major League Baseball Draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

, but did not sign and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Oxnard College Oxnard College is a public community college in Oxnard, California, United States. Established in 1975 by the Ventura County Community College District, it serves the Oxnard Plain cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, and Port Hueneme. Oxnard College of ...

. He was then drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in the 27th round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

but again did not sign and transferred to

Yavapai College Yavapai College is a public community college in Yavapai County, Arizona. The main campus is in Prescott, with locations in Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Sedona. History Yavapai College was established in 1965 by means of a ...

. In 2019 Vines transferred to

California State University, Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Ba ...

. After one year at Bakersfield, he was drafted by the

in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB draft and signed.

Professional career

Vines spent his first professional season with the rookie–level

Gulf Coast Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are an American baseball team. They are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast Lea ...

and rookie–level

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

. In 12 games (11 starts), he struggled to an 0–5 record and 6.68 ERA with 35 strikeouts in innings of work. Vines did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He returned to action in 2021, splitting the year between the Single–A

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina. History Augusta was a member of the S ...

and High–A

Rome Braves The Rome Emperors are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2023, the team wa ...

. In 22 starts between the two affiliates, Vines pitched to a 6–4 record and 2.92 ERA with 129 strikeouts across 111 innings pitched. Vines began the 2022 season with the Double–A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

before receiving a promotion to the Triple–A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

later in the year. In 27 combined games (25 starts), he registered an 8–4 record and 3.77 ERA with 156 strikeouts in innings of work. On November 15, 2022, the Braves added Vines to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Vines was optioned to the Triple-A

to begin the 2023 season. On August 28, 2023, Vines was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He faced the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

two days later, pitching six innings, yielding two earned runs, and recording the win in his debut. At the end of the 2023 regular season, Vines pitched for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, Arizona. ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. Vines was optioned to Triple–A Gwinnett to begin the 2024 season. On April 12, Vines was called up to the Braves' roster to replace Allan Winans. Following two starts for the Braves, Vines was optioned to Triple–A on April 22. On July 29, Vines was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Braves. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Double–A Mississippi on August 2.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vines, Darius 1998 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball players from Oxnard, California Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners baseball players Danville Braves players Florida Complex League Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Mississippi Braves players Oxnard Condors baseball players Rome Braves players Walla Walla Sweets players Yavapai Roughriders baseball players