page_title: Jason Vargas
section_title: Amateur career
hierarchical_section_title: Jason Vargas / Amateur career
caption_attribution_description: English: I personally took this photo at Blair Field in Long Beach, CA, in 2004, when Jason Vargas was pitching for the Long Beach State 49ers, semi-officially known as the Dirtbags. He is pitching against the UC Irvine Anteaters.
context_page_description: Jason Matthew Vargas is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins drafted Vargas in the second round of the 2004 MLB draft. He made his major league debut in 2005. In 2017, he was an All Star and tied for the American League lead in wins.
context_section_description: Vargas was born in Apple Valley, California. He attended Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, where he played for the school's baseball team under his father, who was head coach. His father retired in 1998, and Vargas transferred to Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley. Vargas graduated in 2001. 
  The Minnesota Twins drafted him with the 1,273rd pick in the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. He declined to sign with Minnesota, and instead enrolled at Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college baseball for the LSU Tigers. As a freshman at LSU, Vargas had a 1–1 win-loss record with a 3.43 earned run average in 13 games. He also saw occasional playing time as a first baseman and designated hitter. In his first college at bat, he launched a pinch hit grand slam to lift the Tigers to a victory over Mercer.
  Vargas decided to transfer out of LSU after the 2002 season to Cypress College for the 2003 season, picking a junior college so he would still be eligible for the draft. He was 11–3 with a 3.10 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 107.1 innings as he batted .374. He was the Southern California junior college player of the year for his work on the mound and at the plate. However, as the season wore on, his arm slot dropped, and his velocity fell into the mid-80s. That, combined with Vargas' signing bonus demands, depressed his draft stock, so he went undrafted.
  Vargas transferred to California State University, Long Beach to play for the Long Beach State 49ers for his junior year. At Long Beach, he learned to keep his top half aligned with his lower half over the rubber and not drift toward the plate as he twisted through his delivery. The tweak allowed Vargas to repeat his mechanics and keep his arm higher, which in turn increased the velocity on his fastball and improved the break on his curveball. The new work ethic paid off, and in 2004 Vargas went 7–4 with a 4.14 ERA in 18 games on the mound, while hitting .354 with 14 doubles and five home runs as the team's designated hitter.
caption: Vargas pitching for the Long Beach State 49ers in 2004
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