Zach Vincej

Zach Vincej
Cincinnati Reds
Shortstop
Born: (1991-05-01) May 1, 1991
Saugus, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Zachary Laine Vincej (born May 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Before beginning his professional career, Vincej played college baseball at Pepperdine University. Playing for the Pepperdine Waves, Vincej won the Brooks Wallace Award in 2012, given to the best shortstop in college baseball.

Amateur career

Vincej participated in PONY Baseball in the 14-and-under group.[1] He also competed internationally for the United States national youth baseball team in 2007, winning the gold medal in the 2007 World Youth Baseball Championship.[2] Vincej had a .583 batting average during the tournament.[3]

Vincej attended Saugus High School in Saugus, California, and played for the school's baseball team as their starting shortstop.[4] He was a second-team all-league selection as a freshman in 2006,[5] and a first-team selection in his next three seasons.[6] He was named to the all-state team after his sophomore season.[6]

Vincej enrolled at Pepperdine University, where he played college baseball for the Pepperdine Waves baseball team, starting in 2009.[7] While he was in college, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Anchorage Bucs in the Alaska Baseball League in 2009 and 2010[8][9][10] and for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2011.[11]

With the Waves, Vincej struggled in 2011, his sophomore season, recording a .194 batting average and committing 11 errors in 53 games played.[12] However, he rebounded to bat .339 during the 2012 season, winning the Brooks Wallace Award as the top college baseball shortstop in the nation.[12][13] With the highest fielding percentage of all shortstops in the West Coast Conference at .951, Vincej was also named the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year.[14]

Professional career

The Cincinnati Reds drafted Vincej in the 37th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.[12] He signed with the Reds[15] and made his professional debut with the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie-level Pioneer League. Vincej played for the Dayton Dragons of the Class A Midwest League in 2013, and was named to the league's all-star game.[16][17] Vincej played for the Bakersfield Blaze of the Class A-Advanced California League in 2014 and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Class AA Southern League in 2015. He returned to Pensacola in 2016[18] where he batted .281 with 3 home runs and 47 RBIs.[19] After the 2016 regular season, the Reds assigned Vincej to the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "LOCALS WELL REPRESENTED AT ALL-STAR GAMES". Daily News of Los Angeles. May 22, 2005. Retrieved July 24, 2012. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Welcome to USA Baseball: Home of 1988 & 2000 Olympic Gold Medalists". Mlb.mlb.com. August 25, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  3. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (September 5, 2007). "Thompson finds his calling - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  4. ↑ "CHANGES WILL AFFECT HIGH-SCHOOL TEAMS". Daily News of Los Angeles. March 22, 2006. Retrieved July 20, 2012. (subscription required)
  5. ↑ "A BLACK TUESDAY FOR SANTA CLARITA'S BASEBALL HOPES, TOO". Daily News of Los Angeles. May 26, 2006. Retrieved July 24, 2012. (subscription required)
  6. 1 2 "Zach Vincej Profile - Pepperdine University Official Athletic Site". Pepperdinesports.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  7. ↑ Rogers, Kendall (November 19, 2009). "Pepperdine ready for clean slate - College Baseball - Rivals.com". Rivals.yahoo.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  8. ↑ Bragg, Beth. "Who's on first?: Alaska Baseball | Alaska news at". Adn.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  9. ↑ Bragg, Beth. "Little-used players shine in Bucs win: Alaska Baseball | Alaska news at". Adn.com. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Goldpanners play 2 win 2". Newsminer.com. June 30, 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Hyannis holding on". The Barnstable Patriot. July 8, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Littman, Jordan (July 12, 2012). "Vincej travels rocky road to the top". Malibu Times. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Waves' SS Vincej wins Wallace Award". NCAA.com. July 1, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Waves Collect WCC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year as Conference Honors Were Announced - Pepperdine University Official Athletic Site". Pepperdinesports.com. May 30, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds 2012 Draft Results | reds.com: Team". Cincinnati.reds.mlb.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  16. ↑ http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2013/06/06/bar060613/
  17. ↑ http://www.wdtn.com/dpp/sports/five-dragons-make-all-star-team
  18. ↑ "Popular veterans Chang, Lutz return as Blue Wahoos set roster". Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Zach Vincej Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds prospect Zach Vincej belts walk-off grand slam for Peoria Javelinas - MiLB.com News - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved October 26, 2016.
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