Ralphy Velazquez gave the American League a little bit of everything in Sunday’s 2026 MLB Futures Game.
The Cleveland Guardians’ top prospect started for the AL and helped power a 6-1 win over the National League, delivering an opposite-field RBI hit and flashing the kind of defensive instinct that turned heads at first base.
Velazquez finished 1-for-4 with a strikeout, but his lone knock mattered. The base hit to the opposite field brought home Toronto Blue Jays prospect Jojo Parker from third and stretched the AL lead at the time.
That kind of damage from Velazquez isn’t exactly a surprise. His bat has been the calling card, and the 20-year-old has been climbing fast this season. He opened the year at Double-A, hit .317/.414/.566 over his first 36 games, and earned a promotion to Triple-A.
The adjustment to Columbus took a bit, but he has settled in there as well, posting a .777 OPS and a 107 wRC+ with the Clippers this season.
The play that may have stood out most, though, came with his glove. In the bottom of the sixth, Kayson Cunningham ripped a ball down the first-base foul line. Velazquez snagged it in the air, then quickly spun and tagged Ryan Clifford as he tried to get back to the bag for an unassisted double play.
Cooper Ingle was also named to the American League Rising Stars roster, but he did not play after his MLB promotion.
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