Nelson Velazquez

Nelson Velazquez

24-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Chicago Cubs
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Velazquez made his MLB debut in 2022 at the age of 23 and showed some flashes of potential, though it was mostly a struggle overall. He hit six home runs and drove in 26 across 77 games while stealing five bases in seven attempts. However, he also struck out nearly 32 percent of the time, which isn't surprising for a rookie, and his .205 batting average and .286 on-base percentage leave plenty to be desired. With the Cubs in rebuilding mode, Velazquez could get a longer look in 2023 despite his early scuffles. Ian Happ, Christopher Morel and Seiya Suzuki project as the three starting outfielders, but Velazquez could back up any of those players, and he also has a path to playing time at DH, particularly with veteran catcher Willson Contreras no longer around. Velazquez may struggle to hit for a high average, but if he can get to double figures in home runs and steals, there may be some fantasy value here. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#599
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Cubs in March of 2023.
Optioned to Triple-A level
OFChicago Cubs  AAA
March 23, 2023
Velazquez was optioned to Triple-A Iowa by the Cubs on Thursday, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
Velazquez drew 206 plate appearances on the North Side of Chicago last season, but he batted just .205/.286/.373 and is now on the outside looking in for a regular role after the club increased payroll with several significant signings over the winter.
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Batting Stats
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2022
2022 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
2
5
12
2
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
4
7
7
6
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2020
 
 
+26%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+26%
OPS vs LHP
2021
No Stats
2020
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2020vs Left .756 82 12 4 9 0 .197 .305 .451
Since 2020vs Right .599 124 8 2 17 5 .211 .274 .325
2022vs Left .756 82 12 4 9 0 .197 .305 .451
2022vs Right .599 124 8 2 17 5 .211 .274 .325
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2020
 
 
+27%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+27%
OPS on Road
2021
No Stats
2020
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2020Home .574 93 4 1 10 3 .174 .237 .337
Since 2020Away .731 113 16 5 16 2 .232 .327 .404
2022Home .574 93 4 1 10 3 .174 .237 .337
2022Away .731 113 16 5 16 2 .232 .327 .404
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Nelson Velazquez compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.29
 
BB Rate
9.2%
 
K Rate
31.6%
 
BABIP
.281
 
ISO
.168
 
AVG
.205
 
OBP
.286
 
SLG
.373
 
OPS
.659
 
wOBA
.294
 
Exit Velocity
89.2 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
33.3%
 
Barrels/PA
7.8%
 
Expected BA
.209
 
Expected SLG
.399
 
Sprint Speed
25.5 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
42.5%
 
Line Drive %
16.7%
 
Fly Ball %
40.8%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Bernie Pleskoff highlights his favorite players from the Arizona Fall League, including Miami outfielder prospect JJ Bleday, who Pleskoff says possesses all the tools necessary to be a big-leaguer
More Fantasy News
May be squeezed from roster
OFChicago Cubs  AAA
February 21, 2023
Velazquez may be the odd man out with the Cubs adding several new players in the offseason, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic report.
ANALYSIS
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Drives in four
OFChicago Cubs  AAA
October 2, 2022
Velazquez went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and four RBI in Sunday's 8-1 win over the Reds.
ANALYSIS
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Sitting again Sunday
OFChicago Cubs  AAA
September 25, 2022
Velazquez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh.
ANALYSIS
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Heads to bench Saturday
OFChicago Cubs  AAA
September 24, 2022
Velazquez isn't in the lineup Saturday against Pittsburgh.
ANALYSIS
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Sitting Friday
OFChicago Cubs  AAA
September 23, 2022
Velazquez will sit Friday versus the Pirates.
ANALYSIS
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