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This Guardians Prospect Has Taken Off Following Recent Promotion
Jul 12, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; A general stock view of the Cleveland Guardians logo is seen during a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

This Guardians Prospect Has Taken Off Following Recent Promotion

Originally posted on Cleveland Guardians on SI
By Tommy Wild  |  Last updated Aug 17, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Last Sunday, the Cleveland Guardians made a handful of transactions throughout their farm system. The most notable move that got the most attention was Travis Bazzana being called up to Triple-A, taking one step closer to his MLB debut.

However, Bazzana wasn’t the only top prospect in Cleveland’s organization that was promoted to the next level. The Guardians also transferred Ralphy Velazquez from the Lake County Captains (High-A) to the Akron RubberDucks (Double-A).

It’s only been four games for Ralphy, but he’s certainly made a solid impression on his new teammates and coaching staff. 

In 17 at-bats, Velazquez has already racked up nine hits (.529 batting average). These haven't just been seeing-eye singles either; he’s making some incredibly good contact, too. Valazquez has already tallied one triple, three doubles, and three home run. So far, he’s recorded a 1.953 OPS in his first week at Double-A.

On Friday night, Ralphy hit his third long ball since the promotion, making it his 20th home run of the season, a milestone no other minor leaguer in Cleveland’s pipeline can say they’ve reached.

Yes, it may appear pretty shocking that Ralphy has been able to do so much damage at the plate in just a short amount of time against pitchers at a level higher than he’s seen over the last year and a half. 

That said, during Velazquez’s final month at High-A, he was easily playing the best baseball of his minor league career to this point. Since July 15, the slugger recorded a slash line of .316/.413/.570 with an OPS of .983 with the Captains.

This stretch is likely one of the reasons Ralphy got promoted to Double-A so close to the end of the minor league season.

The Guardians acquired Velazquez by making him the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. After entering Cleveland’s organization that year, he went on to play just six games in the Arizona Complex League before being assigned to an affiliate for the start of the 2024 minor league season. 

Ralphy is already in his third minor league season, but it can be easy to forget that he’s still just a 20-year-old. He had a slow start when he was originally assigned to High-A in 2023, but there’s still so much more room for development and progression, which is why Velazquez is currently ranked as Cleveland’s 10th-ranked prospect. 

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This article first appeared on Cleveland Guardians on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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