Hideki Irabu
In , Vázquez had become the opening day start of the Expos. He was thought of as a promising young pitcher and pitched the team's opening game on April 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, striking out five batters in seven innings in an Expos win. The Expos would win his following three starts and eight of his first eleven leaving the Expos at 27–23 on June 1. In the wake of injuries to pitchers Matt Blank, Mike Thurman and Hideki Irabu, Vázquez's 2.79 ERA, good for fourth-best in the NL, was noted as a key part to their success. After a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles and a win against the New York Yankees the Expos were at 31–23, 2nd behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, 3rd in the entire National League. His June sixth start, under pressure, Vázquez struck out 7 batters in 6 innings but he also walked four and gave up a home run to Bernie Williams, the Expos lost and would go on to lose seven of their next nine leaving them at 33–31, eighth in the National League. The Expos would finish 67–95 and Vázquez would pitch 217 innings, striking out 196 while only walking 61. He was invited to play in the 2000 Japanese All-Star Series 2000.