Guardians fans, want prospects? We have prospects! – Terry Pluto
AI Summary
The Cleveland Guardians have promising prospects in their farm system, including Ralphy Velazquez, considered the best hitting prospect since 2023. Velazquez is praised for his well-rounded game, baserunning, and defensive contributions despite not yet making an immediate major league impact.
# Guardians fans, want prospects? We have prospects! – Terry Pluto
Published: 2026-05-10T10:00:00+00:00
Type: Non-news
## Summary
The Cleveland Guardians have some of their top prospects, including Ralphy Velazquez, who is considered the best hitting prospect in the Cleveland farm system since he was spotted at Class A Lake County in 2023. Despite not being an immediate impact in the Majors, Velzquez has been praised for his well-rounded game and contributions to baserunning and defense. The Guardians also received Khal Stephen from Toronto in exchange for Bieber's arm. Stephen has a 1-2 record and 2.93 ERA at Class AA Akron and is focused on refining his delivery and improving his secondary pitches. The team is also looking forward to prospects from Oklahoma State, which has had several major arm surgeries.
## Story
CLEVELAND, Ohio – In spring training, I checked with Guardians assistant general manager Matt Forman about some of the team’s prospects. Here’s an update on how they are doing now: Ralphy is Ralphy Velazquez. He is the best hitting prospect I’ve seen in the Cleveland farm system since I spotted Chase DeLauter at Class A Lake County in 2023. You didn’t need to be a super scout to see that DeLauter could hit back then, and it’s the same with Velazquez now. This is not to say Velazquez will eventually make the same immediate impact in the Majors as DeLauter. But my goodness, the 20-year-old lefty can hit. He’s batting .318 (.953 OPS) with four homers and 21 RBI at Class AA Akron. Impressive stat: He’s struck out only 19 times compared to 20 walks. “Ralphy made a great impression in major league spring training this year, and he has continued to build on that foundation through the first month in Akron,” texted Forman. “He has had a number of highlight moments, including a grand slam and walk-off hit in the same series.” Dating back to last season, the first baseman is batting .323 (.967 OPS) with nine homers in 55 games in Class AA. The Eastern League