Ralphy Velazquez earns yet another accolade as he creeps closer to MLB 

Another day, another accolade for Ralphy Velazquez.

After officially being named the Guardians’ top prospect earlier in the week, Velazquez was named to the Futures Game on Wednesday alongside Cooper Ingle, who won’t be playing in the game after earning his big league promotion last week. 

Velazquez’s inclusion in the Futures Game adds even more wind behind his sails as he continues to get closer and closer to making his big league debut. This will be Velazquez’s second time playing in the game, as he also played in the game in 2024 and went 0-for-1 with a walk. 

Ralphy Velazquez’s strong week of accolades continues with Futures Game nod 

This year’s Future Game will take place on July 13 in Philadelphia during the All-Star festivities ahead of the Home Run Derby on July 14 and the actual All-Star Game on July 15. 

Velazquez is going to join an American League roster that also includes Athletics shortstop Leo De Vries (who was floated as a potential trade return for Steven Kwan last season) along with Red Sox shortstop Franklin Arias and White Sox infielder Caleb Bonemer. 

While Velazquez isn't the biggest name participating in the game (38 of MLB Pipeline’s top 50 prospects are going to be playing), his addition on the roster is a bit different than when he earned the honor in 2024. 

At that point, he was playing at High-A and was just 19. Now he’s the ripe old age of 21 and is tearing it up at Triple-A Columbus. 

Velazquez entered play on Wednesday hitting .297 with nine home runs and 40 RBI across 67 games at Double-A and Triple-A this season. 

Last year Parker Messick and CJ Kayfus were Cleveland’s two representatives in the Futures Game, and they both ended up making their big league debuts for the Guardians in the second half of the season. 

It seems like there’s at least a chance that kind aggressive promotion could be in Velazquez’s future given how deftly he’s handled moving up to Triple-A and playing the outfield more. 

That position change could end up being the key to unlocking his big league promotion considering how things went for Ingle, who was called up last weekend to play left field despite only having a week of minor league experience at the position under his belt. 

Ingle’s gone just 1-for-11 with the Guardians and has made a boneheaded two-base error, but he had hit .284 in 51 games in Triple-A prior to being promoted. 

Simply put, the Guardians desperately need offense, and they’ve already shown a lot of aggressiveness with their rookies this season, so adding Velazquez to their roster isn’t as crazy as it seems. 

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