Nelson Velasquez could be a good find for Royals


The Royals have been abysmal this season, mostly on the pitching side. Despite the pitching struggles for Kansas City, the team does have a few good bullpen arms. Many Kansas City fans believe Scott Barlow, and as of recently Ryan Yarbrough would be the two big names dealt during the trade deadline. Kansas City showed Barlow and Yarbrough could bring good young talent back to the organization. The Royals do however have the history of finding diamonds in the rough either through trades, minor league free agent signings, and even the Rule 5 Draft. Although Brad Keller has struggled in 2023, he proved to be one of the better finds in the Draft of recent memory. Kansas City is hoping "small trades" work out the same way. The boys in blue are hoping that Nelson Velázquez will be a diamond in the rough. Based on what Cubs fans have said about the 24-year old, he certainly could be. Chicago fans are calling him the next Jorge Soler, so hopefully Velázquez can be a good outfielder too. Velasquez's big league stats aren't probably what the Royals looked at when they went out and acquired him. The team looked at his minor league stats. The 24-year old's career minor league stats are great. While in the Chicago minor league system, he was dominant. He hit 76 home runs with 245 runs batted in. Velázquez has a bit of speed too with 61 stolen bases in his minor league career. Fans are probably wondering why the Royals would acquire a player like Velázquez who doesn't have good big league stats. The past two seasons with the Cubs, Velázquez played in a combined 90 big league games. While in a Cubs jersey, Velázquez hit nine homers and had 32 runs batted in. The Royals in my opinion can't lose in this deal, especially based on how the team has played this season. While with Kansas City, Cuas posted a career 4.08 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 92 games. Despite the Royals poor season, Velazquez could be a reason for more people to watch Kansas City baseball this season to see what the 24-year old brings to the ballclub. The comparison to Soler should really get Royals fans pumped. Velázquez has plenty of raw power and is a decent outfielder. And at the age of 24, he is still young enough to develop into a good everyday player for Kansas City in the near future.

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