The Cleveland Guardians have been looking for a solution at first base for the entire season. It was one of the positions they addressed at the trade deadline, when they acquired Nathaniel Lowe from the Cincinnati Reds.
That resulted in Kyle Manzardo getting demoted to the minors. He was thought to be the answer after hitting 27 home runs last season, but he did not come close to that kind of production this year. Rhys Hoskins was signed late in spring training to provide some insurance, but the veteran has also had a terrible campaign.
Fortunately, this problem is not expected to drag into next season, as Cleveland executive Chris Antonetti recently said top Guardians prospect Ralphy Velazquez is starting to take off now that the first baseman has become comfortable at Triple-A.
“Oftentimes when [Ralphy Velazquez] gets to a new level, there’s a period of transition and then once he settles in, he kind of takes off. I think we’ve seen that play out over the last couple of weeks,” Antonetti said. “He’s made a lot of progress. It’s been really fun to see.”
At just 21 years old, Velazquez might be a tad too young to help the Guardians this season, even though they could certainly use him. He is ranked as Cleveland’s No. 2 overall prospect by MLB.com, behind No. 1 Angel Genao, an infielder who made his MLB debut earlier this month.
A first-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Velazquez has steadily climbed through Cleveland’s farm system. After starting this season with Double-A Akron, he was promoted to Columbus in mid-May.
In 63 Triple-A games, he has a slash line of .264/.348/.494 with 14 home runs and 38 RBIs. In August, he has posted a .341 batting average and an .886 slugging percentage with eight home runs in 44 at-bats.
By comparison, in eight games since being sent down, Manzardo has a slash line of .214/.314/.429 with two home runs. That was after he posted a .215/.306/.378 slash line with 13 homers in 102 games for the Guardians. Hoskins has been even worse, at .178/.307/.378 with 13 homers in 94 games.
There is a chance the Guardians will promote Velazquez when rosters expand on Sept. 1, and if so, he almost certainly will go right into the lineup as they try to push for a playoff spot in the AL Central and wild-card race.
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