Let’s Talk About How Good Victor Vodnik’s Pitching Has Been

In case you’ve missed it, Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Victor Vodnik is having quite a spring. As it turns out, Fox Sports’ MLB staff has noticed.

That’s some pretty elite company Vodnik is hanging out with. Granted, it’s early in the season, and we’re still in small-sample-size territory here, but it’s worth taking a minute to look at just how good Vodnik has been on the mound.

Remind Me: Who Is This Guy?

The 24-year-old righty was born in Rialto, California, and attended Rialto High School. He finished his high school career with a 2.84 ERA in 49 IP. He also had 85 strikeouts.

In the 2018 MLB draft, Vodnik was selected by Atlanta in the 14th round, receiving a $200,000 signing bonus.

He started 2019 with the Low-A Rome team, where he made 23 appearances, including three starts. He went on to pitch 67.1 innings and earn a 2.94 ERA with 69 strikeouts. Like many MiLB players, he missed 2020 due to COVID.

In 2021, Vodnik was assigned to Double-A Mississippi, where he earned a 5.35 ERA over 33.2 innings. He struck out 41 and had 11 starts as Atlanta tried to determine whether his future was with the rotation or in the bullpen. He did miss some time due to an injury, but was selected for the Arizona Fall League after the season ended.

Vodnik spent May of 2022 with the Mississippi club before being promoted to the Gwinnett Stripers. He finished the season with a 2.93 ERA in 27.2 IP. He started 2023 back in Double-A.

His life changed in July of 2023 when Vodnik and Tanner Gordon were traded to the Rockies for Pierce Johnson.

Here’s Mario Delgado Genzor’s assessment:

Vodnik has been a well thought of prospect for years because of his athleticism and fluidity, but he really started to raise some eyebrows in 2022 as it became clear his velocity had jumped from good to great after moving to the bullpen. That velo jump remained and even increased at times in 2023, with Vodnik reaching triple digits in some outings.

Vodnik started in Double-A Hartford, registering four scoreless appearances before being promoted to Tiple-A Albuquerque, accumulating a 7.71 ERA over eight appearances. On September 8, the Rockies added him to their 40-man roster and promoted him to the MLB team. Over 8.2 innings, he earned an ERA of 8.31.

Here’s some pretty terrific video of his offseason training routine:

He broke string training with the Rockies and has since been a regular part of the bullpen.

How’s It Going?

Pretty well, actually.

Vodnik has pitched 12.1 innings out of the bullpen (the most thrown by any Rockies reliever) and has an ERA of 0.00. He currently has a K% of 22.9% (second only to that of Nick Mears) and a less-impressive BB% of 12.5%. He leads the bullpen with an 67.7% GB%.

And his LOB%? It’s a gorgeous 100%. That’s right: No player has scored on Victor Vodnik in 2024.

In terms of his arsenal, he primarily throws a four-seam fastball that averages 97 mph. Vodnik relies on his slider 21% of the time followed by a changeup that represents 18% of his pitches.

That’ll play.

What’s Next?

Vodnik knows the Rockies — and much of the bullpen is not where it needs to be. In terms of team ERA, the Rockies bullpen ranks 28th with at 5.56. That will need to improve.

"We'll keep on just working," Vodnik told Thomas Harding. "It'll get there. A lot of these games have been pretty close, just not our way. That happens. Just keep grinding. We'll win ballgames."

Still, the Rockies are off to a franchise-worse 4-15 start. On a (possibly) positive note, they are still ranked 16th in innings pitched by the bullpen. Hopefully, the Rockies can mitigate wearing out the bullpen early.

That said, Vodnik’s 12.1 IP tie him for the fourth-most innings thrown by a reliever. (Oddly enough, former Rockies Brent Suter and José Ureña have also thrown 12.1 innings.)

If the Rockies want Vodnik to continue being effective, they will have to be judicious in using his arm. Otherwise, they risk doing to him what they did to Jake Bird last season. (Bird tied Detroit’s Tyler Holton for leading all relievers in innings pitched with 84.1.)

Hopefully, they will not repeat last year’s mistakes.

What I’m Reading

• Luke Zahlman’s “Victor Vodnik and Nick Mears using pregame throwing sessions to exchange trade secrets” (Denver Gazette) — This seems timely!

• Lauren Pennington and Patrick Saunders’ “FAA Investigating after Rockies Coach Plays Pilot on United Charter Flight” (Denver Post) — This may prove to be a big deal since it violates federal air safety laws.

• Skyler Timmins’ “A Deeper Look into the Struggles of Nolan Jones” (Purple Row) — It’s no secret that Nolan Jones is enduring a terrible sophomore slump. Timmins tries to tease out what’s going wrong at the plate.

• Aram Leighton’s “Hitting Prospect Roundup: Zac Veen’s Early Bounceback” (Just Baseball) — Zac Veen is back!

• Eric Longenhagen’s “Colorado Rockies Top 47 Prospects” (FanGraphs) — Longenhagen gives his assessment of the Rockies farm system. (His takes are at odds with many Rockies evaluators.)

Closing Thoughts

That’s it for this week. Hopefully, playing two series at Coors Field will help the Rockies get on track before they head to Mexico City next weekend to meet the Houston Astros.

Thanks for reading —

Renee