American League
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4 articles
STL • DH
1 day ago
The 27-year-old slugger started the scoring with a bang, crushing a 419-foot (109.4 mph EV) three-run blast off of Miles Mikolas in the opening inning. He also tacked on a run-scoring single in the fifth that increased the Cardinals’ edge to 5-3. He’s doing everything in his power to earn a spot on the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster this spring, hitting .333 (11-for-33) with four long balls and nine RBI.
STL • DH
10 days ago
Velázquez is 5-for-17 with just one strikeout. He has a realistic shot at a spot on the Cardinals’ bench as a platoon guy against lefties, though it doesn’t help his case that he doesn’t really have much of a positive split against lefties in his career. He’s hit .211/.306/.428 with a 30% strikeout rate versus lefties and .212/.276/.435 with a 28% strikeout rate against righties in his 615 major league plate appearances.
STL • DH
about 2 months ago
Velázquez, who hit .212/.286/.433 with 31 homers in 615 plate appearances for the Cubs and Royals from 2022-24, bounced around all over the place last year. The Royals released him from their Triple-A roster in May, at which point he went to Mexico and hit .357/.444/.658 in 49 games. That earned him a minor league contract from the Pirates, and he hit .284/.349/.554 in 18 games at the end of the year for Triple-A Indianapolis. Since then, he’s spent time in both the Dominican and Puerto Rican Winter Leagues. He should have some chance of making the Cardinals as a right-handed platoon option in the outfield corners and at DH, assuming the team doesn’t bring in a veteran option for that role.
PIT • DH
6 months ago
A classic change of scenery candidate, Velázquez was a notable prospect just a couple years ago. He failed to carve out an everyday role in Kansas City, batting .212/.286/.433 with 31 homers and seven steals in 194 games at the major-league level since 2022. Still only 26 years old, he represents a worthwhile dice roll for the rebuilding Pirates as a no-risk lottery ticket.