Vincent John Velasquez (pronounced vuh-LAS-kez)... Is a 2010 graduate of Garey (Calif.) High School, where he played shortstop and pitched...Was a three-time All-Mountain Baldy League first-team infielder…Was named his team’s MVP in 2009 in his junior season after going 6-1 with a 1.89 ERA on the mound and batting .608 with 14 doubles, 29 RBI and 18 stolen bases... Is ambidextrous...After developing bone spurs in his right elbow as a junior in high school, he taught himself how to throw left-handed and wound up playing center field as a southpaw while he recovered...Also played basketball and quarterback in HS before focusing on baseball...According to Wikipedia, his father, Leonard, worked as a package delivery driver for the United Parcel Service (UPS), though he sometimes worked four jobs at once to provide for Velasquez and his brothers...Mother, Juanita, worked as a hospital billing supervisor.
2024
Spent 2024 as a free agent rehabbing from right elbow ligament reconstruction surgery.
2022
Spent his only season with Chicago (AL), where he posted the best walk rate (2.99 percent) of his career while splitting time between the starting rotation and bullpen…Ranked in the 78th percentile in Zone Miss percentage (19.5%), 74th percentile in Batting Average on Balls In Play (.270), 88th percentile of Four-Seam spin rate (2417) and 73rd percentile for average Slider spin rate (2501) among pitchers with at least 75.0 innings pitched according to TruMedia…Went 2-3 with a 5.26 ERA (39.1ip/23er) as a starter and 1-0 with a 4.25 ERA (36.0ip/17er) in relief…Held left-handed hitters to a .222 batting average against (28-for-126)…Made his White Sox debut as the starter in the Home Opener on 4/12 vs. Seattle (had a no-decision after allowing one run on two hits in 4.0 innings)…Made his first relief appearance of the season on 5/24 vs. Boston, working 3.0 scoreless and hitless innings while also recording five strikeouts…Was placed on the 15-day Injured List on 6/3 (retro to 5/31) with a strained left groin…Was reinstated from the injured list on 6/15 and started that afternoon at Detroit (had a no-decision in 2.2 scoreless innings)…Earned his third win of the season, and first in relief, on 6/21 at Toronto…Was placed on the injured list on 7/6 with a blister on his right index finger…Made four appearances on rehab with Triple-A Charlotte before being reinstated from the injured list on 8/15… Posted a 2.92 ERA (24.2ip/8er), 24 strikeouts, .176 batting average against and 0.93 WHIP in his final 11 appearances of the season, including one start.
2021
Combined to go 3-9 with a 6.30 ERA (66 ER/94.1 IP) and 101 strikeouts in 25 games (21 starts) between Philadelphia and San Diego...appeared in 21 games with the Phillies and four with the Padres....Made three scoreless starts, his most since 2018 (four)....Limited right-handers to a .221 (48-217) average....Went 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA (12 ER/36.2 IP) and 45 strikeouts over his first 10 appearances (six starts)...allowed three earned runs or less in al...six of his starts....Allowed four hits or less and one run or less in 5.1-plus IP in four consecutive starts from 5/3-25...became the first Phillies pitcher to accomplish the feat in the modern era (Elias)....Was on the 10-day injured list from 8/2-9/11 with a blister on his right middle finger....Was designated for assignment by Philadelphia on 9/11, released on 9/14 and signed by San Diego as a minor-league free agent on 9/17....His contract was selected on 9/17 and made four starts prior to the end of the season.
2020
Made his 100th career start in his season debut, 7/26 vs MIA...Posted a 3.78 ERA (7 ER, 16.2 IP) in four appearances (3 starts) from 8/30-9/19...Struck out nine and walked none on 9/8 vs BOS, marking his first such start since his 16-strikeout shutout on 4/14/16 vs SD... Had a 29.9% strikeout rate (46 SO, 154 BF) and averaged 12.18 SO/9.0 IP (46 SO, 34.0 IP)...Made seven starts and two relief appearances.
2019
Allowed two runs or fewer and pitched at least 5.0 innings in each of his first four starts, posting a 2.08 ERA (5 ER, 21.2 IP) ... Carried a no-hitter through 5.2 innings on 4/14 at MIA, the fourth time he had carried a no-hitter through at least 5.0 innings since the start of 2018 ... Was on the 10-day IL, 5/8-23, with a right forearm strain ... On 6/22 vs MIA, recorded the first start by a Phillie with at least 5.0 IP and 1 or 0 baserunners since Roy Halladay’s perfect game on 5/29/10 and 1 of only 15 such games by any Phillie since 1908 ... On 6/28 at MIA, struck out his 500th career batter, accomplishing the feat in 457.0 career innings pitched ... Clubbed his first career home run on 6/28 at MIA (Elieser Hernandez) ... On 8/2 vs CWS, entered the game as a pinch-runner and went on to play 2.0 innings in left field, his first career appearance as a position player ... Became the first ML pitcher to record an outfield assist in a game since 5/17/1950, when Ned Garver did so for the St. Louis Browns ... Made 10 relief appearances between April and June, posting a 0.93 ERA (1 ER, 9.2 IP) in nine of those 10 (4 ER, 0.2 IP in the other) ... Overall, posted a 4.96 ERA (59 ER, 107.0 IP) as a starter and 4.35 ERA (5 ER, 10.1 IP) in relief ... Made only eight of his 23 starts at home and allowed three runs or fewer in six of them ... As a batter, hit .233 (7-30), 3 RBI, 2 BB ... Joined Cole Hamels as the only Phillies pitchers over the last 20 years (since 2000) to bat at least .200 in three separate seasons (min. 35 PA per season)
2018
Made his 3rd career and 3rd consecutive Opening Day roster ... Posted a 2.34 ERA (11 ER, 42.1 IP) with 1 HR allowed in 8 road starts, 5/5-8/21 ... On 5/10 vs SF became the first Phillies pitcher with 12 or more strikeouts and multiple hits at the plate since 9/16/13 (Cliff Lee, 14 SO, 3 H) ... Tied a career-high 3-game winning streak, 5/5-17 ... Went 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA (7 ER, 27.1 IP) and 36 SO in 5 May starts; it was the lowest ERA of any month in his career (min. 5 starts) ... Carried a no-hitter through at least 5.0 innings three separate times (5/28 at LAD, 6/14 vs COL, 7/22 vs SD), something all Phillies did three times from 2013-17 ... Was on the 10-day IL, 7/1-10, with a right forearm contusion after being struck with a line drive ... Earned a win in relief on 7/24 vs LAD, two days after earning a win in a start; it was his first game in relief since 10/2/15 at ARI and first career win in relief ... Posted a 0.95 ERA (2 ER, 19.0 IP) in July, the lowest ERA among any NL pitcher with at least 15.0 IP, and 4th-lowest in MLB ... Became the first Phillies starter to go 8 straight starts without allowing a home run (6/30-8/21) since Roy Halladay went 10 straight, 7/24-9/14/11 ... Issued one walk or none in nine of 13 starts from 6/30-9/20 ... Surrendered only two home runs in 59.2 IP over parts of his final 16 appearances (15 starts) of the season ... His 0.52 HR/9.0 IP (3 HR, 52.1 IP) following the All-Star break was 10th among all ML starters (min. 10 starts) ... Held RHH to a .211/.298/.308 slash line and was the only pitcher in baseball to face at least 300 RHH and allow 3 HR or fewer ... Allowed 4 hits or fewer in 16 of his starts, joining Aaron Nola (19 in 2018) and Grover Cleveland Alexander (16 in 1915) as the only Phillies to do so since 1908 ... Became the fourth Phillie of the season to make 30 starts, marking the sixth time in franchise history they accomplished that feat (last: 2008)
2017
Made his 2nd consecutive Opening Day roster... Struck out 10 batters in 4.0 innings in his season debut on 4/7 vs WSH, becoming the first Phillie in the modern era (since 1900) to finish a game with 10 or more strikeouts and 4.0 or fewer IP... Was the first Phillies starter with 10 or more SO in the first 4.0 innings of a game since Cole Hamels, 7/24/06 vs ATL... Was on the 10-day DL, 5/31-7/17, with a right flexor strain; included rehab assignments to Lehigh Valley (AAA), Reading (AA) and Clearwater (A)... Had a 2.96 ERA (9 ER, 27.1 IP) in 6 starts from 5/25-8/4... Stranded 74.4% of the runners he allowed on base, the 3rd-best percentage of all Phillies starters (min. 5 starts)... Placed on the 10-day DL on 8/11 with a right middle finger injury; transferred to the 60-day DL on 8/22... Had surgery on his right middle finger on 9/6 (Dr. Gregory Pearl) and missed the remainder of the season.
2016
Made his first Opening Day roster...Went 8-2, 3.15 ERA through his first 16 starts and 0-4, 5.96 ERA in his final 8 start...Collected 9 SO on 4/9 at NYM, most by a starter in his Phillies debut since Roy Halladay (4/5/10 at WSH, 9 SO)...Had a 15.0-inning scoreless streak to begin his Phillies career, the longest since Marty Bystrom's 19.0-inning streak in 1980...Struck out 16 batters in a 3-hit SHO, 4/14 vs SD...His 16 SO were the 3rd-most in Phillies history and the second-most in a 9.0-inning game...Became the 4th ML pitcher since 1893 to throw a SHO with 16 or more SO, 0 BB and allow 3 hits or fewer (others: Kerry Wood, 5/6/98 vs HOU; Roger Clemens, 8/25/98 vs KC and Max Scherzer, 10/3/15 at NYM)...Is the third pitcher in ML history aged 23 or younger to throw a SHO with 0 walks and 16 or more SO (others: Doc Gooden, 9/12/84 vs PIT and Kerry Wood, 5/6/98 vs HOU)...His 25 SO through his first 2 career starts with the Phillies were the most in franchise history (previous: Jim Bunning, 20 SO, 4/15-24/64)...Had 3 double-digit SO games: 4/14 vs SD, 5/17 vs MIA and 8/16 vs LAD..Was on the 15-day DL, 6/9-26 (right biceps strain); made 1 rehab start for Reading (AA)...Averaged 10.44 SO/9.0 IP and became only the second Phillies starter ever to make at least 20 starts and finish the season at or above 10.00 SO/9.0 IP (other: Curt Schilling, 1997-98)
2015
Entered the season ranked as the fourth-best prospect in HOU's system by Baseball America...Attended his first ML spring training camp with HOU, but did not make an appearance after suffering a strained right lat...Began the season on the 7-day DL and rehabbed in extended spring training...Activated on 5/8 and transferred to Corpus Christi (AA)...Went 3-0, 1.37 ERA (4 ER, 26.1 IP) in five starts from 5/8-6/2...Had his contract selected on 6/10 and made his ML debut that day at CWS (5.0 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 5 SO)...Did not record a decision in each of his first five starts, despite leaving all five with a lead...Earned his first ML win, 7/21 vs BOS...Allowed three ER or fewer in five of his seven starts with HOU...Made his first career relief appearance, 7/26 at KC...Was optioned to Corpus Christi twice: 7/7-20 & 8/1-19
2014
Shot up prospect charts at the onset of the 2014 season and was ranked as a top-10 prospect in the Astros system for the first time in his career by Baseball America (#6), Baseball Prospectus (#6) and ESPN.com (#7)...also ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 82 prospect in all of baseball...started on Opening Day for Class A Advanced Lancaster on April 3 vs. Lake Elsinore (1ER/4IP), his third straight Opening Day start...started his season 4-0 with a 3.13 ERA (8ER/23IP) in six games (3 starts) in April...made eight appearances through May 9 before being placed on the 7-day DL on May 10 with a strained groin...was sidelined for two months before being sent on a minor league rehab assignment to the GCL Astros on July 11...made three starts for the Astros before being activated on July 28...finished his season in Lancaster's rotation and pitched in their playoff run, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (4ER/12IP) and 13 strikeouts...was twice named a California League Player of the Week for the weeks of April 3-13 and Aug. 11-17...combined to go 7-5 with a 3.52 ERA (25ER/64IP) in 18 games (13 starts) on the season...posted 91 strikeouts in his 64.0 regular season innings...following the year, played for Salt River in the Arizona Fall League, making five appearances (four starts) and going 2-2 with 13 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched...missed his final scheduled start after straining his right lat...added to the Astros 40-man roster on Nov. 20.
2013
Began the season with Quad Cities (A)... Led the Midwest League in SO/9.0 IP (10.06) and T-2nd in SO (123)... Went 8-3, 2.59 ERA (24 ER, 83.1 IP) in 16 starts... Promoted to Lancaster on 8/20 and made 3 starts... Combined to go 9-6, 3 SV, 3.54 ERA (49 ER, 124.2 IP) with 142 SO between the two levels.
2012
Made the Opening Day start for Tri-City (A), 6/18 at Vermont (W, 5.0 IP)... Averaged 10.05 SO/9.0 IP (51 SO, 45.2 IP)... Following the season, was named the 14th-best prospect in the New York-Penn League by Baseball America.
2011
Missed the entire season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
2010
Made his pro debut with Greeneville (R)... Following the season, was ranked as the 11th-best prospect in the Appalachian League by Baseball America... Underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on 9/22 (Dr. Thomas Mehlhoff).
