Darius Vines

The Astros drafted Vines in the 32nd round in 2016 out of high school and the Cubs drafted him in the 27th round out of Oxnard (Calif.) JC in 2017. After a stint Yavapai (Ariz.) JC, he transferred to Cal State Bakersfield this year and ranked among the Western Athletic Conference leaders in strikeouts most of the season. Vines is athletic, competitive and has a four-pitch mix fronted by a big league-ready curveball. It’s a true, downer power curve at 78-80 mph with late bite that comes out of the same tunnel as his fastball, locking hitters up and drawing feeble swings. Vines’ 89-92 mph fastball is flat, so he’ll need to learn to manipulate it or improve his command of it. He also throws a slider and changeup that flash average. Vines has struggled with velocity drops in middle of each season, so he’ll need to improve his durability to remain a starter. Otherwise he projects as a reliever who will ride his curveball as far as it will take him.