Miguel Vargas (baseball)

Miguel Antonio Vargas (born November 17, 1999) is a Cuban professional baseball second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Miguel Vargas
Vargas at the 2022 All-Star Futures Game
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 17
Second baseman
Born: (1999-11-17) November 17, 1999
Havana, Cuba
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 3, 2022, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.191
Home runs8
Runs batted in40
Teams

Career

Vargas signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent in September 2017.[1] He spent his first professional season in 2018 with the Arizona League Dodgers, Ogden Raptors and Great Lakes Loons.[2]

Vargas played 2019 with Great Lakes and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He started 2021 with Great Lakes before being promoted to the Tulsa Drillers.[3] Between the two teams, he appeared in 120 games and batted .319 with 23 homers and 76 RBI.[4] The Dodgers honored him by awarding him the organizations Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year Award.[5] He was selected as a post-season Double-A Central all-star.[6] He was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers to begin the 2022 season[7] and was selected to represent the Dodgers at the 2022 All-Star Futures Game.[8] He played in 113 games for Oklahoma City, batting .304 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs.[4]

The Dodgers promoted Vargas to the major leagues for the first time on August 2, 2022.[9] He made his first appearance the following day, against the San Francisco Giants as the starting designated hitter. In his first at-bat he hit a ground-rule double off Giants' starter Alex Cobb.[10] On September 24, 2022, Vargas hit his first MLB home run off Jordan Montgomery of the St. Louis Cardinals.[11] In 18 games with the Dodgers, he hit .170 with eight RBI while playing first base and left field as well as designated hitter.[12]

Vargas was announced the Dodgers opening day second baseman for the 2023 season.[13] In that role, he played in 81 games through the all-star break, but hit only .195 with seven homers and 32 RBI.[12] He was optioned to the minors on July 9[14] and he remained there for the rest of the season.[15] Back with Oklahoma City, he played in 60 games with a .288 batting average, 10 homers and 43 RBI,[4] helping them win the Pacific Coast League championship.[16]

Personal life

His father, Lázaro Vargas, played baseball for the Cuban national team.[17]

References
  1. "Cuban defector, Dodgers prospect makes own name for Great Lakes Loons". mlive. June 21, 2019.
  2. "Raptors' Vargas stays hot with five hits". MiLB.com.
  3. Plunkett, Bill. "Miguel Vargas Shows Off Newfound Power". www.baseballamerica.com.
  4. "Miguel Vargas Cuban & Minor League Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  5. "Dodgers name Miguel Vargas & Hyun-Il Choi Branch Rickey Minor League Players of the Year". MLB.com. October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  6. "Postseason All-Stars". milb.com. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  7. "OKC Dodgers Release Preliminary 2022 Roster". milb.com. April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  8. Mayo, Jonathan (July 7, 2022). "Here are the 2022 Futures Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  9. Stephen, Eric (August 2, 2022). "Miguel Vargas gets the call to the Dodgers". SB Nation. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  10. "Giants vs Dodgers box score August 3, 2022". Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  11. Toribio, Juan (September 24, 2022). "LA bats perk up behind Kershaw for win No. 105". MLB.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  12. "Miguel Vargas Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  13. Toribio, Juan (February 2, 2023). "Dodgers' infield picture comes into focus". mlb.com. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  14. Ardaya, Fabian (July 9, 2023). "Dodgers option Miguel Vargas to minors: Who could fill in at second base?". The Athletics. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  15. Hoornstra, J.P. (September 3, 2023). "Here's why Dodgers' Miguel Vargas is still at Triple-A". Orange County Register. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  16. Stephen, Eric (September 27, 2023). "Oklahoma City Dodgers win Pacific Coast League championship". SB Nation. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  17. Ebro, Jorge (June 10, 2021). "Hijo de Lázaro Vargas indetenible en las Menores, impone marca de respeto en cualquier béisbol". El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). Retrieved August 3, 2022.
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