‘Doing It Faster Than Anybody Else’: The Impressive Ascent of Ralphy Velazquez
Just Baseball's No. 17 prospect is adjusting well after a midseason promotion to Triple-A.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — It had already been a busy morning for Ralphy Velazquez.
A few social media video hits, signing autographs for a local little league team, and wrapping up with a guest appearance on MLB Network.
National attention isn’t new to the Huntington Beach, California, native. In fact, you have to go back to 2016, but it’s a period the 21-year-old still remembers clearly.
At 11 years old, Velazquez was named to the USA Baseball 12U National team, making him one of the youngest players on the roster.
“I made the USA 12U team, and I remember I had to do an interview,” Velazquez said. “I messed up a little bit, but it was very good for me, being that young, and I had a lot of confidence in it. I’ve always been in front of the media, so that’s always helped for sure.”
Since his selection as the Cleveland Guardians‘ number one draft pick in 2023, Velazquez has opted to keep his mechanics as uncomplicated as he’s been able to. The simplicity at the plate has allowed him to keep the noise around him to a minimum.
At 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, nothing about the West Coast native is small. And the offensive power? Well, that’s been a selling point since the beginning.
After knocking a combined 11 home runs between Single-A and High-A in 2024, Velazquez proceeded to double that in 2025 with 22 home runs combined between High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron.
“For starters, his head has always been in the right place,” an American League scout said. “That’s the important thing. It gave the Guards a solid starting point for coaching him. Willingness to be coached and developed doesn’t get talked about enough.”
Now facing Triple-A pitchers for the first time this season, Velazquez has set his mind on not straying from what he knows, but instead refining it.
“They attack you differently [in the International League],” Velazquez said. “When they’re beating you with something, they’re going to keep going after it, and that’s just a learning area for me, just to keep having good at-bats and just learning myself. Every day it’s going to get better, and I’m just trusting the process up here.”
Starting the 2026 regular season with Double-A Akron, Velazquez did just about everything right.
Slashing .317/.414/.566, Velazquez added a .980 OPS, seven home runs, and 30 RBI over 36 games, leaving the Guardians with little room to question if the 21-year-old could manage a move to the next level.
Following Velazquez’s promotion to Triple-A Columbus, it didn’t take Clippers hitting coach Matt Angle long to get to know the young hitter’s profile.
“Ralphy communicates really well,” Angle said. “He wants to be a really, really good baseball player. It’s the work ethic and again, the communication skills. His ability to be 21 years old and navigate an older clubhouse, and a newer environment, is just a testament to him as a young man and what he’s done so far.”
Settling in at the plate with the Clippers wasn’t instantaneous. His first Triple-A home run didn’t come until his 14th International League game. But, again, Velazquez took the adjustment in stride. The same simplistic approach has been applied at all levels, and developing with the Clippers hasn’t changed that in the slightest.
“Going through baseball, you’re going to have times where you feel different,” Velazquez said. “There’s going to be a day when you come to the field, and something feels off. I’ve definitely had that, but I’ve tried to do my best just to go back to those little cues and feelings that I have. I have them in my notes, so whenever it starts feeling a little off, I go to my notes.”
While Velazquez won’t label himself as someone who journals consistently, the routine of taking notes on little observations he makes throughout the year has become second nature for the first baseman.
“Overall, the swing is good,” Angle said. “He’s a big individual with a lot of mass and can do a lot of things and has the ability to impact the ball all over the field. He doesn’t just have to pull; he can play line to line, which is impressive to see.”
At the Triple-A level, Angle doesn’t see a need to dig in too deep with hitters, but more so sees the need to learn the anchor points of each hitter he works with.
“It’s more about them knowing from a foundational standpoint, whether it be in their routines, their plan of attacks, like the training environments, the movement patterns, what they anchor to and what’s important to them,” Angle said. “In baseball, when you play every day, guys can have a tendency to want to tinker and move away from things, or not maybe look at the right aspects. So it’s always about trying to make sure that their anchor points are strong, and that they know what that is, and they go to those things first.”
Adapting Defensively
When Velazquez initially entered the Guardians system, he was drafted as a catcher. It only took one game behind the plate at the professional level before the Cleveland front office decided to shift Velazquez to first base.
The transition between positions again ties back to the confidence built on the field at a young age. Velazquez knows what it’s like to shift around the field.
“Since I was little, I’ve been very fortunate to play every position,” Velazquez said. “I played outfield, I used to pitch and play infield. Every team I played for, I was always in a different spot because I’d say I’m pretty athletic. I was always in different spots, and I’m very fortunate for that. So when they ask me to go out there and get some reps, I feel comfortable for sure.”
While Velazquez has worked primarily at first base, the Guardians have also tried him in stints in left field.
No matter the assignment, Velazquez remains adaptable. It’s the coachability and asking questions that are not only impressing Angle, but it’s also giving the Guardians a much better idea of how to set the table for the 21-year-old and new 2026 Futures Game invitee.
“First base makes sense for [Velazquez],” the American League scout said. “Ralphy will do whatever you ask him to do, and if you marry that mentality to the bat, you can’t really ask for a better kid than him.”
For Angle, it’s simply been the task of polishing a very obvious skill set, and with how Velazquez is approaching his ascent through the system, you won’t find Angle complaining anytime soon.
“He’s just open to getting better and learning just in general,” Angle said. “He’s just one step closer now. So you’re just trying to fill in those gaps and help him become more aware of how to evaluate and what’s important. It’s about him understanding his anchor points and his ability to flip between training and competition. It’s just something players are always growing at. He’s just doing it faster than everybody else.”
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