Ralphy Velazquez is playing his first Triple-A game as this post is published.
Since 2017, the best hitters with 200 or more plate appearances at Double-A’s Eastern League at 20 years old or younger, are: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. – 171 wRC+, 10.2/7.9 K/BB%, 11.6 Swinging Str. %, 38/43 Fly/Pull ball % Kevin McGonigle – 162 wRC+, 12.6/16 K/BB%, 7.9 Swinging Str. %, 35/42 FB/PB % Ezequiel Tovar – 153 wRC+, 21.7/8.5 K/BB%, 15.2 Swinging Str. % 39/39 FB/PB % Rafael Devers – 150 wRC+, 17.2/9.7 K/BB%, 10.6
Swinging Str. % 35/42 FB/PB % Francisco Alvarez – 150 wRC+, 24/12.2 K/BB%, 16.1 Swinging Str. %, 45/53 FB/PB % Riley Greene – 143 wRC+, 27.3/11 K/BB%, 11.7 Swinging Str. %, 30/37 FB/PB %
By comparison, during his time as a 20 year-old at Double-A:
Ralphy Velazquez: 171 wRC+, 17/12 K/BB%, 11.9 Swinging Str. %, 34/34 FB/PB %
It’s official. We have 90% of Vladimir Guerrero. Bring him up and let’s ride.
In all seriousness, Velazquez has more to prove, of course, now that he’s been called up to Triple-A. He should work on pulling the ball more than he does and attempt to add some lift, if possible. But, folks, we cannot sell short how exciting of a hitter he is. At the age of 20, he is showing advanced professional skill against the much more advanced pitching of Double-A. IF (big “if”) he can keep some semblance of this up now that he is in Columbus, this should begin to look like a top 20 to top 10 prospect in MLB, even if limited to first base. You can see above that being an excellent hitter at Double-A at 19-20 does not make becoming a major league all-star hitter a sure thing… but it’s about as close as you can get.
Should Ralphy play in Cleveland at some point this summer? That will be entirely determined by whether or not he is able to continue to perform well against Triple-A pitching. If so… then I would guess he is going to force the issue in September when rosters expand. Should (knock on wood) any injuries come into play affecting first base/DH, he could get an earlier opportunity, also. This is an exceptionally talented hitter and Guardians fans should be excited.
