The Guardians may not need to shop for their next first baseman.
With Nathaniel Lowe and Rhys Hoskins both headed for free agency, Cleveland has a clear opening at the position. And after the season Ralphy Velazquez just put together, the organization might already have its answer in-house.
Velazquez spent 2026 turning himself into one of the minors’ most dangerous young power bats. He began the year at Double-A Akron and ripped off a .317 average with a .980 OPS in 36 games, enough to earn a move to Triple-A Columbus on May 18.
The production didn’t stop there. In 85 games at Columbus, he hit .278 with 22 home runs, 63 RBIs and a .904 OPS.
Across both stops, he finished at .290 with a .379 on-base percentage, a .548 slugging percentage, 29 homers and 93 RBIs. He also got back to the Futures Game in July for the second time in three years.
The age factor makes the numbers even louder. Velazquez turned 21 in May and was more than five years younger than the average player in the International League, a level where very few hitters that age are putting up that kind of damage.
Cleveland selected Velazquez 23rd overall in the 2023 draft out of Huntington Beach High School in California and signed him for $2.5 million, below the slot value for that pick. He came into pro ball as a catcher, but the Guardians wanted his bat in the lineup every day and shifted him to first base almost right away. After a quiet first full season, he broke through in 2025, leading the High-A Midwest League with 17 home runs before batting .330 at Akron as a 20-year-old.
MLB Pipeline’s scouting report backs up the buzz. It gives him a 60 grade for power and a 50 for the hit tool, while praising his bat speed, strength and ability to lift the ball to his pull side.
The report also says he handles the strike zone well and doesn’t try to do too much at the plate. On defense, he’s developed into an average first baseman with a solid arm, but he isn’t made for the outfield.
Cleveland could still add a short-term veteran to split the job, but a strong spring might make it hard to leave Velazquez off the Opening Day roster.
That would fit the way the Guardians have been built lately. Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana and Parker Messick all made major impacts this season, and Velazquez looks like the next homegrown name ready to matter. If his power carries over to Progressive Field next summer, he could give an offense that ranked 24th in runs and 27th in home runs the kind of jolt it badly needs, without costing the club anything in free agency.
In Other News...
Guardians Free Agent Search Keeps Pointing To The Same Type Of Target
As the offseason market starts to take shape, the Guardians search for help keeps circling back to a familiar profile under Chris Antonetti: players with some track record, some bounce-back appeal and a price tag that fits a club that has to be selective. Michael Conforto, Dustin May, Paul Goldschmidt and Nick Pivetta are among the names that surface in that conversation, along with one other free agent whose fit also lines up with Clevelands usual approach to roster building.
What makes the list interesting is less the star power than the pattern. These are the kinds of targets that can make sense for Cleveland if the front office believes there is more value to unlock than the market is currently assigning, especially with budget constraints shaping every move. None of it points to a finished plan yet, but it does suggest the Guardians are once again shopping in the same aisle they have preferred before, where upside and affordability matter as much as the headline. [Read more 🡒]
Chase DeLauter Has A Strong Rookie Of The Year Case
Chase DeLauter spent enough of the season making noise that his name belongs in the Rookie of the Year conversation even if it never made the finalist list. The Cleveland outfielders offensive production stacked up well against the 2026 finalists, and when you line his numbers up beside Kevin McGonigles, the gap is not nearly as wide as the voting results suggest. For a player who has already given the Guardians a real look at his ceiling, that alone is a meaningful sign of where his rookie year landed.
The separation came more from the fuller picture than from the bat alone, with WAR and games played helping explain why the finalists ended up where they did. DeLauter can still make a legitimate case that he belonged in that group, and Cleveland fans have every reason to view him as one of the seasons most impressive first-year performers. Even so, the voters choices are easy enough to understand, which is part of what makes DeLauters season feel both encouraging and just a little unfinished. [Read more 🡒]
Steven Kwan Twist Could Change Clevelands Winter Trade Plans
A potential winter market wrinkle could shape how the Guardians handle Steven Kwan, even if the club has not shown any urgency to move him. MLB Networks Jon Morosi reported that players with one year of team control left are unlikely to be dealt for prospects this month because of uncertainty surrounding the 2027 season and the possibility of a lockout, which could make teams think twice about paying that kind of price.
For Cleveland, that matters because Chris Antonetti has already framed Kwan as an important piece of the 2027 roster picture. If the market stays quiet and clubs lean toward swapping pending free agents for one another instead of sacrificing younger talent, Kwan could wind up staying put, leaving the Guardians to navigate a winter trade plan that looks a lot different than it might have a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]