Vince Velasquez

Vince Velasquez

32-Year-Old PitcherSP
 Free Agent  
Free Agent
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Vince Velasquez in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
$Signed a one-year, $3.15 million contract with the Pirates in December of 2022.
Moves to 60-day IL
PPittsburgh Pirates  
Elbow
June 23, 2023
The Pirates transferred Velasquez (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Friday, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Velasquez underwent season-ending surgery to repair the UCL in his right elbow earlier this month, so his move to the 60-day IL doesn't come as much of a surprise. The 31-year-old righty will end the season with a 3.86 ERA and 1.31 WHIP with 37 strikeouts through 37.1 innings. He'll become a free agent this offseason and figures to return midway through 2024.
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Pitching Stats
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2022
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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2017 MLB Game Log
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-8%
BAA vs LHP
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
-4%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-9%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .226 214 52 20 43 12 0 6
Since 2022vs Right .245 267 54 19 60 18 0 9
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left .234 73 16 8 15 3 0 3
2023vs Right .244 89 21 6 20 6 0 1
2022vs Left .222 141 36 12 28 9 0 3
2022vs Right .245 178 33 13 40 12 0 8
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Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-13%
ERA on Road
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
-23%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-4%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 4.82 1.32 52.1 3 3 0 8.6 3.8 1.2
Since 2022Away 4.18 1.21 60.1 4 4 0 8.4 2.5 1.2
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home 4.66 1.45 9.2 1 1 0 10.2 5.6 0.0
2023Away 3.58 1.27 27.2 3 3 0 8.5 2.6 1.3
2022Home 4.85 1.29 42.2 2 2 0 8.2 3.4 1.5
2022Away 4.68 1.16 32.2 1 1 0 8.3 2.5 1.1
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Vince Velasquez See More
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
June 4, 2023
Jan Levine latest rundown includes a few players who are set to return from injury.
Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Welcome Back Edition
May 20, 2023
Todd Zola welcomes back several key hurlers into his weekly pitcher rankings.
MLB Barometer: Tout Wars Check-In
May 17, 2023
Erik Halterman writes about this week's risers and fallers, which includes Marlins pitcher Eury Perez, who made his big-league debut last week and also has a spot on Halterman's Tout Wars team.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
May 14, 2023
Jan Levine looks at the latest NL moves and suggests a few players who could make an immediate impact.
DraftKings DFS Baseball: Thursday Plays and Strategy
May 4, 2023
Chris Morgan prefers a Brewers stack Thursday against the Rockies.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Velazquez joined the White Sox for 2022 and delivered more of the same with a 4.78 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 69:25 K:BB in 75.1 innings. The right-hander's profile as a fringe-rotation piece remains largely unchanged, so his one-year deal with Pittsburgh makes sense as a landing spot. A 4.25 FIP indicates Velazquez may have deserved some better results last season, but a 5.19 career ERA certainly doesn't inspire much confidence for a significant improvement in 2023.
Velasquez's 2021 campaign was a familiar sight, as he continued to show flashes of promise surrounded by enough struggles to remain on the fringe of the rotation. The 29-year-old had a 5.95 ERA over 81.2 innings before Philadelphia opted to cut him late in the season, and he ended up getting picked up by injury-riddled San Diego for the stretch run, where he struggled even more with 12 earned runs allowed over 12.2 frames. Velasquez has hooked up with the White Sox for 2022 and could again be used in the back end of the starting rotation, but he's only worth a flier until he can show some more consistency.
Velasquez was more or less the same guy he's always been last season, showing flashes of promise at times but ultimately not pitching well enough to stick in the rotation for the entirety of the campaign. A change in pitching coach and some strong showings in summer camp gave reason to believe he could finally be turning the corner, but he wound up posting a 5.56 ERA in seven starts and a pair of relief appearances. To be fair to the 28-year-old righty, his 4.16 FIP and 4.07 xFIP painted a much more positive picture, but he's routinely failed to match his underlying numbers over the course of his six-year career. He did produce a career-best 29.9 K%, but that was offset by a career-worst 11.0 BB% and a low 39.8% groundball rate. There's still at least something here with Velasquez, but it might be borderline delusional at this point to think that next year will be the year things finally click.
Like many of his teammates on the Phillies' pitching staff, Velasquez took a step back in 2019. While his ERA hardly budged, his FIP took a big jump, rising from 3.75 to 5.21. His 25.2 K% was a near match for his 25.6% mark the season prior and his walk rate actually improved (from 9.4% to 8.3%), but his HR/9 more than doubled from 0.98 to 1.99. His poor performances saw him lose his rotation spot for a stretch, as he made 10 of his 33 appearances out of the bullpen. Velasquez's strikeout rate means he still stands out from the group of starters whose holds on their respective rotation spots are tenuous at best, and it's not impossible to envision him finally becoming good if he can cut the homer habit. Five years into his big-league career, though, it's tough to say why a breakout would come now if it hasn't come yet, so his price will be deservedly low during draft season.
Last season was encouraging in some ways for Velasquez, even if his ERA dropped just 28 points to 4.85. He made just one trip to the disabled list, and that only happened due to a forearm contusion after he was struck by a line drive (and finished the play left-handed). He reached career highs in starts (30) and innings (146.2) while raising his strikeout rate to 25.6% and cutting his walk rate to 9.4%. With better BABIP and strand-rate luck, he could have posted an ERA more in line with his 3.75 FIP. Reasons for concern do remain, however. Over his last nine starts, Velasquez posted an ugly 8.45 ERA, suggesting that he may not be able to handle the workload that comes with a full season in the starting rotation. Relief risk remains for the righty. He could be moved to the bullpen at the start of the season should the Phillies spend big on the rotation this winter, or he could head there over the summer should his performance dictate a move.
Velasquez endured a very disappointing 2017 season, which saw his ERA balloon to 5.13 in an injury-riddled campaign. He had looked in 2016 like a promising young fireballer who could become a star if he could lower his walk rate. Unfortunately, the opposite happened, as his walk rate climbed from 3.1 BB/9 to 4.3, while his strikeout rate dropped from 10.4 K/9 to 8.5. Velasquez could be a good buy-low candidate, as he may be in line for a much better 2018 season if offseason surgery to address a circulation problem in his throwing hand returns him to his pre-2017 form. He's still just 25, and should put up strong strikeout numbers if healthy, even if his ERA remains high. That's a big "if," however, given his injury history. Think of Velasquez has a lottery ticket in deeper fantasy formats.
Velasquez won a rotation spot with a strong spring training and made a major impression in his second regular season start, striking out 16 in a complete game win over the Padres. In early June he went on the disabled list with a strained right biceps that initially looked like a serious issue, but ultimately only caused him to miss a few weeks of the season. He was shut down in early September, having thrown a career-high 136 innings between a rehab start and his starts in the majors. Velasquez throws a mid-90s fastball that tops out around 98 mph, which he complements with a curveball, changeup and slider. His 11.2 percent swinging strike rate ranks him among the better strikeout pitchers in baseball and gives him the potential to be a major fantasy asset. He does have some work to do on reducing the free passes, and he needs to utilize his defense a bit more to help keep his pitch count down and to get deeper into his starts.
Velasquez logged just 77 innings between the minors and Arizona Fall League in 2014 so he was limited to a swingman role in 2015 (27 appearances, 12 starts). A lat injury from that Fall League appearance pushed his season debut to early May and so he only logged 88 innings, meaning we still might not see a full starter's workload from the 24-year-old. However, a popular adage from the great Ron Shandler rings true with Velasquez: "Draft skills, not roles". Velasquez has the kind of talent that can make teams forget whatever "plan" they had and just use the best guy available once ready. Walks are the key issue, but his 62 percent first-pitch strike rate was actually a tick above average and will help him chisel into that 3.4 BB/9 if it holds. He's not a finished product, but two swing-and-miss pitches and a developing changeup that was given 60-grade upside when he was coming up make him very appealing. Further, he has a chance to earn a spot in the Phillies' rotation to start the year after coming over in the Ken Giles trade.
Velasquez has a long history of injuries that includes Tommy John surgery in 2010, so it was no big surprise when a groin injury cost him two months last season. When healthy, however, the 22-year-old right-hander is a standout pitcher in the Astros' system. He's moved along slowly thus far (in large part due to the injuries), but his first taste of Double-A appears likely this season after a strong 2014 pitching with the Gulf Coast League Astros and High-A Lancaster. Between the two affiliates, Velasquez went 7-5 with a 3.52 ERA and a remarkable 12.8 K/9 in 64 innings. With a low-90's fastball, plus changeup and improving curveball, he has mid-rotation potential in the big leagues if he can string together a few seasons of full health in the upper levels of the minors. His recent addition to the Astros' 40-man roster indicates he may be closer to the majors than we think.
Three years removed from Tommy John surgery, Velasquez turned in a fine season pitching between Low-A Quad Cities (25 games, 16 starts) and High-A Lancaster (three starts). The 21-year-old right-hander posted excellent ratios (10.3 K/9, 0.6 HR/9) to go along with a 9-6 record, 3.54 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 124.2 innings. Velasquez appears likely to progress to Double-A, where he will look to improve his command (3.0 BB/9) and the quality of his offerings -- a low-90s fastball, curve and changeup.
More Fantasy News
Undergoes elbow surgery
PPittsburgh Pirates  
Elbow
June 9, 2023
Velasquez underwent season-ending surgery Friday on his right elbow, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
ANALYSIS
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Set for MRI
PPittsburgh Pirates  
Elbow
May 28, 2023
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Velasquez is set to undergo an MRI and receive further medical opinions after the right-hander exited his start in Saturday's loss to the Mariners with elbow discomfort, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
ANALYSIS
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Shelved with elbow discomfort
PPittsburgh Pirates  
Elbow
May 28, 2023
The Pirates placed Velasquez on the 15-day injured list Sunday with right elbow discomfort, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Removed with elbow discomfort
PPittsburgh Pirates  
Elbow
May 27, 2023
Velasquez was removed from Saturday's start against Seattle with right elbow discomfort. He allowed four runs on seven hits over two innings with three strikeouts and one walk before exiting, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
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Starting Saturday
PPittsburgh Pirates  
May 27, 2023
Velasquez (elbow) will return from the 15-day injured list to start Saturday's game in Seattle.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could head to IL again
PPittsburgh Pirates  
May 28, 2023
Velasquez lasted just two innings after exiting Saturday's game against the Mariners due to elbow discomfort, and he could be in line for another trip to the injured list, Kody Duncan of Rum Bunter reports.
ANALYSIS
Velasquez was activated from the 15-day injured list Saturday but dealt with discomfort in the same elbow that sent him to the IL in the first place, so this is not encouraging. Velasquez's injury could result in Roansy Contreras moving back into the rotation.
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