Top Guardians Prospect Earns Spot At Notable Minor League Team

MLB Pipeline chose its Prospect Team of the Week after reviewing performances throughout the 30 teams’ farm systems. To be eligible for this unofficial but exciting recognition, minor leaguers must rank among a team’s top 30 prospects. Additionally, those currently on MLB rosters don’t qualify.

First base prospect Ralphy Velazquez represented the Cleveland Guardians in the squad. After the week he just had, leaving him out was impossible.

To be fair, Velazquez has had an incredible month, not just a ‘week’. He has hit a jaw-dropping 16 home runs in his last 21 games in Triple-A, and he’s breaking out right before our eyes.

“Nobody is hitting like Velazquez lately; his 14 homers in August are three more than any player in the Majors or Minors. In fact, he went deep 16 times in 20 games dating back to late July, and the only big leaguers to accomplish that are Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Kyle Schwarber and Albert Belle,” Ben Weinrib wrote.

Velazquez’s wRC+ in Triple-A is up to a rock-solid 135 after a somewhat mediocre start at that level. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he has hit a cool .293/.380/.562 with 27 home runs, 80 RBI, and a 145 wRC+. Imagine the surging Guardians offense with that kind of production in the middle of their lineup.

Things, however, are complicated, and the current circumstances suggest that we won’t see Velazquez up in 2026. There’s still a chance, but it’s not looking good.

If the Guardians call up Velazquez, they would forfeit their right to place him on a minor league affiliate next year should a lockout take place, because promoting him would mean adding him to the 40-man roster. Cleveland could still elect to have his production help the MLB team right now and bite the bullet next year, hoping that there isn’t a lockout, but it’s not a particularly likely scenario.

In any case, regardless of when he comes up to Cleveland, the Guardians should be pleased with the player’s progress this year in the minor leagues. He had shown flashes before, but this season, he appears to be really maturing and realizing his considerable potential.