Nelson Velázquez
Puerto Rican baseball player (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nelson Javier Velázquez (born December 26, 1998) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter in the Kansas City Royals organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs.
| Nelson Velázquez | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Velázquez with the South Bend Cubs in 2021 | |
| Kansas City Royals | |
| Outfielder / Designated hitter | |
| Born: December 26, 1998 Carolina, Puerto Rico | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 30, 2022, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Batting average | .212 |
| Home runs | 31 |
| Runs batted in | 87 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs selected Velázquez in the fifth round of the 2017 MLB draft.[1] He made his professional debut that year, playing in the rookie-level Arizona League.[2] In 2018, he split time at the Class A Short Season and Class A levels, batting .231 overall for the season; in 103 games, he had 11 home runs and 40 RBIs.[2] In 2019, he mainly played at the Class A level, where he batted .286 with four home runs and 34 RBIs in 72 games.[2] He then played in the Puerto Rican Winter League in the 2019–20 offseason.[2]
Velázquez did not play professionally during 2020, as the minor-league season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he played 69 games for the South Bend Cubs, a High-A team, and 34 games for the Tennessee Smokies, a Double-A team.[2] Overall, he batted .270 with 20 home runs and 73 RBIs in 103 game; he also stole 17 bases.[2] After the regular season, he played for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League where he batted .366 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs in 26 games.[2] Velázquez was named MVP of the 2021 Arizona Fall League season, and was also added to the Cubs' 40-man roster following the 2021 season.[3][4]
Velázquez reached the Triple-A level in 2022 with the Iowa Cubs, and was added to Chicago's active roster prior to a doubleheader on May 30. He made his major-league debut the same day, collecting a hit in his first MLB at bat.[5] On July 4, Velázquez hit his first career home run off of Eric Lauer of the Milwaukee Brewers.[6] He played in 77 games for the Cubs in his rookie campaign, hitting .205/.286/.373 with 6 home runs, 26 RBI, and 5 stolen bases.
Velázquez was optioned to Triple-A Iowa to begin the 2023 season.[7] He was recalled back to the Majors, on April 10.[8] The following day, he hit his first career grand slam, to give the Cubs an 8-7 lead against the Seattle Mariners, after they were previously down 7-0.[9] Velazquez was optioned back to Triple-A Iowa on May 8.[10]
Kansas City Royals
On July 31, 2023, the Cubs traded Velázquez to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for José Cuas.[11] Velazquez was assigned to the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers to begin his time with the Royals. On August 10, Velazquez was called up to make his Royals debut, hitting a home run in his first plate appearance the next day. Velazquez hit a home run the following day in his second career game for Kansas City, making him 3-8 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI in his first 2 games with the team.[12]
On March 23, 2025, Velázquez was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple-A Omaha.[13]
International career
Velázquez was named to the All-Tournament team for the 2024 Caribbean Series while playing winter league baseball for the Criollos de Caguas of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League.[14]
References
External links
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