Vince Velasquez

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.