Ralphy Velazquez is our No. 9 Guardians Prospect. Who should be No. 10?
Mr. Velazquez represented Cleveland in the 2024 futures game and now joins another illustrious club: The Ninth Man Club
If you are Ralphy Velazquez, congratulations, sir. You are now the ninth-ranked prospect in the Cleveland Guardians system for the second-consecutive year as voted upon by Covering the Corner dot com readers.
My goodness, what luck! It’s time for a quick tour. We’ve upgraded the door since our last induction and so there is no need for you to palm in. Just look at that dot there on the wall and—oh lord. That’s a much stronger laser than the pamphlet described. Can you still see? A little? That’ll have to do I guess.
At least it granted us access! Please, do enter the room and take in the glory of the Ninth Man Club. Check out that couch. Can you believe we have a ping-pong table? There’s even a mini-fridge with two different types of soda. There is still a running promotion that if you come up with a better name than “Ninth Man Club” you get free ice cream for a week and we really hope you’ll be the one that does it because until then we have no justification to buy a new machine.
Please say hello to fellow inductees Richie Palacios (2022), Justus Sheffield (2015), and Qebeh (~2910 BCE). There is no time to chat; our feature presentation is about to being. Please, enter the theatre just here to the left.
[FILM BEGINS]
~ The Academy of Bunting Sciences Presents — Ralphy Velazquez, A Prospect Quest ~
EXT NIGHT — GOODYEAR, ARIZONA
A figure walks down the center of the an airport runway, a baseball bat in hand. Southwest Airlines Flight 1028 lowers the landing gear and touches down, but the mysterious figure takes his batting stance and with herculean strength swings at the nose of the plane, launching it back into the sky. The following narration accompanies:
(VO) JAMES EARL JONES: The crisp heat of another southwestern spring. Limitless fields of hustle and grit.
A crumpled-up airplane hurtles past Mars.
This is the land where a prospect... becomes a ballplayer. Base-ball player.
A child waves sadly from an intact window as the plane ekes past Voyager 2.
It can break a good kid. Tarnish his entire soul.
The plane crashes into a black hole but comes screaming out the other side??
Or it can whip him into a base. Ball. Man.
An ambulance howls through the desert, a baseball smashes an anthill, a bat flips over the backstop and disappears into the noon sun’s glare. An ambulance lands on a hospital helipad — wait, where did it come from?
Ralphy Velazaquez faces a stern test as he climbs ever higher toward The Show. As a nineteen-year-old at Single-A he slashed .243/.362 /.414, earning promotion to High-A. Did he struggle there, or did the cruel gods of base-ball test his spirit by cursing him to a BABIP of .224? I asked God and he replied, ——
[FILM SUDDENLY ENDS, CRASHING SOUND FROM BOOTH]
You have no idea how much we blew on this one, Ralphy.
Please, help yourself to a Sprite Zero and take in this moment. But ask yourself, is it a coincidence that you slugged nine batting practice home runs at the Futures Game and then earned this illustrious honor? Hmmm?
We’re just thrilled to have you here in the Ninth Man Club. Please enjoy your second stay before you soar up the rankings and do enjoy our vast back catalog of SEARS catalogues.
Braylon Doughty, RHP (Age 19)
2024: ——
Cleveland’s competitive balance pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, selected at No. 36 overall out of high school with a $2.57 million signing bonus. Touches 97 mph already with his fastball.
Daniel Espino, RHP (Age 24)
2024: ——
Cleveland’s 2019 first round pick, once compared to Jacob DeGrom and Gerrit Cole, has struggled to stay healthy and has not pitched since 2022 due to shoulder surgeries.
C.J. Kayfus, 1B/OF (Age 23)
2024 (A+): 183 PA, .338/.437/.578, 7 HR, 4 SB, 12.6 BB%, 18.3 K%, 188 wRC+
2024 (AA): 298 PA, .263/.366/.470, 10 HR, 1 SB, 12.1 BB%, 28.3 K%, 139 wRC+
Has consistently destroyed baseballs at every level he’s played thus far in Cleveland’s system, showcasing improved power and a decent eye at the plate as well. The rise in K’s at Double-A gives some room for pause but he is still young and developing.
Michael Kennedy, LHP (Age 20)
2024 (A w/ PIT): 15 GS, 73.0 IP, 4.07 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 26.6 K%, 5.3 BB%
2024 (A+ w/ PIT): 2 GS, 10.2 IP, 0.84 ERA, 1.87 FIP, 36.6 K%, 7.3 BB%
Kennedy joined the organization in the Spencer Horwitz trade(s). Thought he did not dominate at Single-A he finished strong with two great High-A starts.
Parker Messick, LHP (Age 24)
2024 (A+): 13 GS, 68.0 IP, 3.57 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 32.3 K%, 8.0 BB%
2024 (AA): 13 GS, 65.2 IP, 2.06 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 30.2 K%, 8.0 BB%
Cleveland’s second round pick in 2022 impressed at Lake County in 2024 and then absolutely blew everyone away at Double-A Akron for the second half of the season.
Joey Oakie, RHP (Age 18)
2024: ——
Cleveland’s third round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Ankeny Centennial in Iowa, Oakie stands 6-foot-3, 200 pounds with a mid-90s fastball and took a $2 million signing bonus.
Austin Peterson, RHP (Age 25)
2024 (A+): 14 GS, 85 IP, 2.44 ERA, 2.17 FIP, 27.1 K%, 1.9 BB%
2024 (AA): 13 GS, 75 IP, 2.88 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 25.1 K%, 5.2 BB%
Peterson broke out as one of the top performing pitchers in the Guardians MiLB organization in 2024 with consistent and elite dominance at both High-A and Double-A.
Johnathan Rodriguez, RF (Age 25)
2024 (AAA) 508 PA, .301/.390/.540, 29 HR, 8 SB, 12.6 BB%, 25.2 K%, 140 wRC+
2024 (MLB): 40 PA, .129/.325/.161, 0 HR, 0 SB, 22.5 BB%, 35.0 K%, 63 wRC+
Absolutely blistered Triple-A pitching in 2024, earning a couple brief opportunities with Cleveland. Will need to prove he’s not a Quad-A player this year.
Andrew Walters, RHP (Age 24)
2024 (AA): 17 G, 20.0 IP, 1.35 ERA, 1.73 FIP, 46.3 K%, 9.8 BB%
2024 (AAA): 33 G, 30.1 IP, 2.97 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 31.8 K%, 13.2 BB%
2024 (MLB): 9 G, 8.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 18.8 K%, 15.6 BB%
Advanced all the way to Cleveland in his debut season and even earned valuable bullpen innings on the postseason roster. Will be a staple of the Guardians’ 2025 relief corps.
Matt Wilkinson, RHP (Age 22)
2024 (A): 8 GS, 40.1 IP, 1.12 ERA, 1.45 FIP, 48.0 K%, 6.1 BB%
2024 (A+): 16 GS, 78.1 IP, 2.30 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 32.7 K%, 8.9 BB%
“Tugboat” set the MiLB world on fire in 2024 with one of the best nicknames in sports and one of the best seasons of any pitching prospect, finishing second in MiLB in strikeouts.