Ralphy Velazquez entered Thursday night with a Minor League-best seven homers this month -- all coming in the past eight games. So instead of extending that streak with a run-of-the-mill dinger, MLB's No. 32 prospect added a little spice to his latest clout.
Hitting the ball over the wall might have been becoming a little too predictable.
Velazquez homered for the third consecutive game, but this time he used his power and his speed to leg out an inside-the-parker for Triple-A Columbus, which fell to Omaha, 8-2, at Huntington Park.
The "long ball" was the eighth of the month for Cleveland’s No. 2 prospect, who has also driven in at least one run in seven consecutive games, giving him 14 RBIs in nine contests this month. One night after going yard twice for the Clippers, Velazquez got things going early again. The 21-year-old led off the second inning with a typical flex, it just went to the deepest part of the ballpark.
The ball rocketed off his bat at 107.6 mph, and while Omaha center fielder Drew Waters (Royals) seemed to have a bead on it, it ricocheted off the wall just to the right of the 400-foot sign in center field and bounded toward left. Velazquez never stopped running and scored standing up for arguably his hardest-earned roundtripper of 2026.
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The tater added another tally to a scorching stretch in which the 6-foot-1, 240-pounder has found another gear. As the season enters its final month, Velazquez might have put himself into the conversation for a late-season callup by the Guardians.
Velazquez's sizzling August has propelled his OPS at Triple-A to .837 while hiking his overall slash line to .281/.370/.523 with 45 extra-base hits and 68 RBIs in 97 games across two Minor League levels. His 21 jacks are one shy of the career high he established last year across two Minor League levels.
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Of course, that production is hardly a surprise considering the offensive profile Velazquez has displayed during his pro career. Drafted as a catcher before shifting to first base, his bat has always been the carrying tool, despite competing against older competition at virtually every stop he’s made.
Velazquez’s big breakthrough came in 2025 when he posted an .839 OPS, 22 homers and 85 RBIs in 122 games across for High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron. Despite ending 2025 on a tear for the RubberDucks, he returned to Double-A to begin 2026 but was promoted to Columbus in mid-May.
The adjustment to Triple-A was not immediate, but his underlying power never disappeared. Now the results are catching up.
With the baseball leaving his bat at elite speeds and home runs arriving in bunches, he is making it increasingly difficult for Cleveland to ignore him.