Zach Vincej

Zach Vincej
Vincej with Pepperdine in 2010
Shortstop
Born: (1991-05-01) May 1, 1991
San Diego, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 2017, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
August 1, 2018, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
Batting average.231
Home runs0
Runs batted in1
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams

Zachary Laine Vincej (/vinsiː/ VINCE-ee;[1][2] born May 1, 1991) is an American former professional baseball shortstop who became the manager of the minor league Everett AquaSox in 2025. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds in 2017 and Seattle Mariners in 2018. Before his professional career, Vincej played college baseball for the Pepperdine Waves, where he won the Brooks Wallace Award in 2012, given to the best shortstop in college baseball. After retiring as a player, he became a coach and manager in the Mariners' minor league system.

Amateur career

Vincej participated in PONY Baseball in the 14-and-under group.[3] He also competed internationally for the United States national youth baseball team in 2007, winning the 2007 World Youth Baseball Championship.[4] Vincej had a .583 batting average, batting 5-for-12 with 3 doubles and 1 triple, during the tournament.[5][6]

Vincej attended Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California and played for the school's baseball team as their starting shortstop.[7] He was a second-team all-league selection as a freshman in 2006,[8] and a first-team selection in his next three seasons. He was named to the all-state team after his sophomore season.[9] He hit .369 with 4 home runs his senior season and was named to the All-Santa Clarita Valley team by The Signal.[10]

Vincej enrolled at Pepperdine University, where he played college baseball for the Waves, starting in 2009.[11] Vincej struggled in 2011, his sophomore season, batting .194 and committing 11 errors in 53 games played.[12] However, he rebounded to hit .339 in 2012, winning the Brooks Wallace Award as the top college baseball shortstop in the nation.[12][13][9] With the highest fielding percentage of all shortstops in the West Coast Conference at .981, Vincej was also named the conference's defensive player of the year.[14]

Vincej played collegiate summer baseball for the Anchorage Bucs in the Alaska Baseball League in 2009 and 2010[15][16][17] and for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2011.[18][19]

Professional career

Zach Vincej with the Dayton Dragons in 2013
Vincej with Dayton in 2013

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds drafted Vincej in the 37th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.[12] He signed with the Reds[20] and made his professional debut with the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie-level Pioneer League. He spent the rest of 2012 there, slashing .336/.393/.434 with one home run and 17 RBIs in 38 games. Vincej played for the Single-A Dayton Dragons in 2013 and was named to the Midwest League's all-star game.[21][22] In 104 games, he batted .263 with three home runs and 31 RBIs. Vincej played for the Bakersfield Blaze of the Class A-Advanced California League in 2014, posting a .271 batting average with one home run and 40 RBIs in 115 games, and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Double-A Southern League in 2015 where he batted .241 with five home runs and 22 RBIs in 90 games. He returned to Pensacola in 2016 where he batted .281 with three home runs and 47 RBIs in 121 games.[23][24] He also won a minor league Gold Glove Award.[25] After the 2016 regular season, Vincej played for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League.[26]

Vincej began the 2017 season with the Louisville Bats of the Triple-A International League. There, he batted .270 with three home runs and 38 RBIs in 110 games. The Reds promoted Vincej to the major leagues on September 1.[27] He made his MLB debut that night as a pinch hitter, grounding out to the shortstop.[28] In nine games in the final month of the season, he batted 1-for-9 and was hit by two pitches.[29]

Seattle Mariners

On November 3, 2017, the Seattle Mariners claimed Vincej off waivers.[30] The Mariners outrighted Vincej to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on November 7.[31] Vincej was promoted to the major leagues on July 30, 2018.[32] His only game with the Mariners was also the best and last MLB game. On August 1, he went 2-for-4 with 1 RBI in a Mariners loss.[33][34] He was optioned back to Tacoma the next day.[24] He was designated for assignment on August 21 and outrighted to Tacoma on August 24.[35][24] He elected free agency on October 2.[36]

Baltimore Orioles

On November 16, 2018, Vincej signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.[37] He spent the year with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides without receiving a call-up to the majors. In 101 games, Vincej batted .271/.317/.396 with 8 home runs and 51 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2019.[24][38]

Seattle Mariners (second stint)

On June 3, 2021, Vincej signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners and was added to the AZL Mariners' Development List. He did not play in a game and elected free agency following the season.[39][24]

Coaching career

On January 31, 2022, Vincej joined the Seattle Mariners organization as a coach for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.[40] He was later named a bench coach alongside former Tacoma teammate Seth Mejias-Brean.[41] On April 20, he made his first appearance on a major league coaching staff, serving as the interim first base coach, while manager Scott Servais was unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19 and Kristopher Negrón served as interim manager.[42] The Mariners beat the Texas Rangers that day under Negrón's management.[42][43]

On January 26, 2023, the Mariners named Vincej the manager of the Single-A Modesto Nuts.[44] The Nuts won the California League championship in 2023 and 2024.[45] Baseball America named Vincej the minor league manager of the year in 2024.[2][46] On January 15, 2025, the Mariners named Vincej the manager of the High-A Everett AquaSox.[47][48]

References

  1. ^ "Baseball Player Name Pronunciation Guide". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Zach Vincej Named Baseball America's 2024 MiLB Manager of the Year" (Press release). Seattle Mariners. December 16, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2025 – via Medium.
  3. ^ "Locals well represented at all-star games". Daily News of Los Angeles. May 22, 2005. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  4. ^ "Team USA captures gold medal with 8-2 win over Brazil". USA Baseball. August 25, 2007. Archived from the original on October 7, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2012 – via MLB.com.
  5. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (September 5, 2007). "Thompson finds his calling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  6. ^ "Overall Statistics for the 2007 16U National Team" (PDF). USA Baseball. August 26, 2007. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007.
  7. ^ "Changes will affect high-school teams". Daily News of Los Angeles. March 22, 2006. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  8. ^ "A black tuesday for Santa Clarita's baseball hopes, too". Daily News of Los Angeles. May 26, 2006. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Zach Vincej - Baseball". Pepperdine University Athletics. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  10. ^ "All-SCV Baseball First Team". The Signal. June 14, 2009. p. B4. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  11. ^ Rogers, Kendall (November 19, 2009). "Pepperdine ready for clean slate - College Baseball". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  12. ^ a b c Littman, Jordan (July 12, 2012). "Vincej travels rocky road to the top". The Malibu Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  13. ^ "Waves' SS Vincej wins Wallace Award". NCAA. July 1, 2012. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. 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. May 30, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  15. ^ Bragg, Beth (June 6, 2009). "Who's on first?: Alaska Baseball League". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  16. ^ Bragg, Beth (June 17, 2009). "Little-used players shine in Bucs win: Alaska Baseball League". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  17. ^ "Today in the ABL". Anchorage Daily News. June 13, 2010. p. 22. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  18. ^ "Hyannis holding on". The Barnstable Patriot. July 8, 2011. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  19. ^ "#7 Zach Vincej". Pointstreak. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  20. ^ "Cincinnati Reds 2012 Draft Results". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  21. ^ Rosecrans, C. Trent (June 6, 2013). "Blog Above Replacement 6.6.13". Cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  22. ^ "Five Dragons make All-Star team". WDTN. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  23. ^ "Popular veterans Chang, Lutz return as Blue Wahoos set roster". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  24. ^ a b c d e "Zach Vincej Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  25. ^ "Rawlings, Minors announce '16 Gold Glovers". Minor League Baseball. September 26, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  26. ^ "Cincinnati Reds prospect Zach Vincej belts walk-off grand slam for Peoria Javelinas". Minor League Baseball. October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  27. ^ Rosecrans, C. Trent (September 1, 2017). "Zach Vincej, Ariel Hernandez called up". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  28. ^ "Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score: September 1, 2017". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  29. ^ "Zach Vincej 2017 Batting Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  30. ^ Adams, Steve (November 3, 2017). "Mariners Claim Zach Vincej From Reds". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  31. ^ Todd, Jeff (November 7, 2017). "Mariners Outright Zach Vincej". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  32. ^ "Mariners' Zach Vincej: Contract purchased from minors". CBS Sports. July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  33. ^ "Zach Vincej 2018 Batting Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  34. ^ "HOU@SEA: Vincej picks up his 1st Mariners hit, RBI | 08/01/2018". MLB.com. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  35. ^ Adams, Steve (August 22, 2018). "Mariners Select Ross Detwiler, Designate Zach Vincej". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  36. ^ Todd, Jeff (October 8, 2018). "Players Electing Free Agency". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  37. ^ @MiLBMariners (November 17, 2018). "Zach Vincej signs with the Orioles. 109 games with the Rainiers & 1 with the Mariners in 2018" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  38. ^ "We now have the complete list of Baltimore Orioles minor leaguers who are officially free agents". Birds Watcher. FanSided. November 8, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  39. ^ "Major League Baseball Transactions". MLB.com. June 3, 2021.
  40. ^ "Zach Vincej: Moves into coaching". CBS Sports. January 31, 2022.
  41. ^ "Opening Day Primer - Let's Play Ball!". We R Tacoma. Tacoma Rainiers. April 5, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  42. ^ a b Divish, Ryan (April 20, 2022). "Mariners rebound from first-inning triple play to beat the Rangers and continue hot streak". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  43. ^ "Mariners' manager Scott Servais out due to COVID-19". The Columbian. Associated Press. April 20, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  44. ^ "Mariners Announce Single-A Modesto Staff for 2023 Season" (Press release). Seattle Mariners. January 26, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  45. ^ Avallone, Michael (September 19, 2024). "Nuts takes home second straight Cal League title". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  46. ^ Lantz, Shane (December 16, 2024). "Modesto Nuts Manager Zach Vincej: Baseball America's 2024 MiLB Manager Of The Year". Baseball America. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  47. ^ Coe, Aaron (January 15, 2025). "AquaSox announce new coaching staff". Everett Herald. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  48. ^ "Mariners Announce AquaSox Staff For 2025 Season" (Press release). Seattle Mariners. January 15, 2025. Retrieved February 3, 2025 – via Minor League Baseball.
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