In 1975 Jesus Vega made his pro debut for the Newark Co-Pilots of the New York-Penn League. During his first season as a pro, Vega batted .309 and drove in 27 runs. all three season Vega spent in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system, he played at the single A level and batted over 300 each season. While with the Burlington Bees Vega showed he had power to go along with his hitting, as he belted 23 home runs while maintaining a batting average over 300.
He finally reached the double-a level, but it was for the Minnesota Twins, and not the Brewers, as Vega had been acquired by the Twins. They assigned Vega to the Orlando Twins of the Southern League. While Vega's numbers went down against a higher level of competition, they still remained respectable, as he batted .297 and drove in 49 runs. Vega quickly moved up the chain in the Twins system, as the following season, he was promoted to their Triple A club, the Toledo Mud Hens. While Toledo struggled on the field, they were stocked with future major league talent like Dave Engle, Hosken Powell, Sal Butera and Gary Ward.
At 23 years old, Vega was established as the Mud Hens regular first baseman. Despite the higher level of competition, Vega batted a respectable .293 and even found a little power as well as he hit 13 home runs and led the team in RBIs with 72. Later on in the 1979 season, Vega got promoted to the majors, but his stay was short. He appeared in just four games and did not get a hit in seven at bats. In 1980, he found himself back in Toledo, but would earn another promotion to Minnesota. He stuck around for 24 games this time, but he served mainly as a Designated Hitter and played just two games at first, spelling starter Ron Johnson.

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