Ralphy Velazquez

Ralphy Velazquez
Velazquez with the Lake County Captains in 2024
Cleveland Guardians
First baseman
Born: (2005-05-28) May 28, 2005 (age 19)
San Pedro, California
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
U-12 Baseball World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2017 Tainan Team

Raffaele Javier "Ralphy" Velazquez (born May 28, 2005) is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Cleveland Guardians organization.

Amateur career

Velazquez played for the 12U United States national baseball team in 2017.[1] He attended Huntington Beach High School. As a junior in 2022, he hit .316 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs.[2] As a senior in 2023, he batted .402 with six home runs.[3] He committed to play college baseball at Arizona State University.

Professional career

Velazquez was selected by the Cleveland Guardians in the first round with the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.[4] On July 22, 2023, Velazquez signed with Cleveland for a below slot deal worth $2.5 million.[5] He made his professional debut with the Arizona Complex League Guardians, hitting .348 over six games. He opened the 2024 season with the Lynchburg Hillcats.[6] Velazquez was selected to represent the Guardians (alongside Jaison Chourio) in the All-Star Futures Game at Globe Life Field.[7] Velazquez was promoted to the High-A Lake County Captains on August 12, 2024.

References

  1. ^ "Scorching hot Velazquez out to prove himself at NHSI". MLB.com.
  2. ^ "High school baseball: 2023 Preseason MaxPreps All-America Team". MaxPreps.com. January 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Times' All-Star baseball team". Los Angeles Times. June 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "Guardians select catcher Ralphy Velazquez with 23rd pick in MLB Draft". cleveland. July 10, 2023.
  5. ^ "Guardians sign 19 of 21 Draft picks, including 1st-rounder Velazquez". mlb.com. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  6. ^ Cano, Jesús (2024-04-11). "Guardians Ralphy Velazquez slugs first two career home runs". MLB.com. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  7. ^ Lada, Justin (2024-07-04). "Guardians prospects Ralphy Velazquez, Jaison Chourio to play in Futures Game". News-Herald. Retrieved 2024-08-08.


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