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Ralphy Velazquez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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

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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

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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

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  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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