It can be tough for big leaguers to look up at the scoreboard in the often-frigid April night air in Cleveland and see one hit or some ugly numbers. It’s probably even tougher for young teenage prospects and first-round picks who have been the best player where they grew up most of their lives. Af ter four walks and a homer on opening weekend of the 2025 minor-league baseball season, Ralphy Velazquez, the Guardians 2023 first rounder who was 1-for-20 coming into the Captains’ matchup with the West Michigan Whitecaps on April 11. After going 0-for-10 in his last three games, the slugging first baseman broke out with three hits including two rocket-job homers in the Captains’ 7-3 win. For a lot of young players, the bad weather and ugly early batting lines can hurt confidence and make it a tough start to the year. More than just numbers, Velazquez has taken a mature mindset to his second year that has kept him going in this tough early stretch. “When you’re having no luck and hitting the ball hard, it’s hard,” Velazquez said after his two-homer game. “It’s a hard sport to get out of slumps. You just need to keep your head down and keep grinding, and it’s all going to click.” The weather is something a little new for Velazquez as well, a native of Huntington Beach, Calif., who started his pro career in Lynchburg (Va.) last spring, where it’s a little warmer than off the coast of Lake Erie. “It’s tough, but we’re grinding and getting after it, getting used to it,” he said. Velazquez’s first rocket was launched to right field, 375 feet and 100 mph off the bat that gave the Captains a 3-0 lead on a night it didn’t seem like there would be many hard-hit balls. He yanked another two-run homer to right field in the seventh inning as part of a four-run outburst by the Captains, that one 99 off the bat. That's a two dinger night for Ralphy Velazquez. 99 pop to right. Two very well struck balls that tonight. pic.twitter.com/9q2nmbS07S — Justin L. (jlbaseball on bluesky) (@JL_Baseball) April 12, 2025 Ralphy Velazquez with two home runs in one game? Say less.@LCCaptains pic.twitter.com/F9dOeCIAyL — GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) April 12, 2025   It wasn’t all bat for Velazquez in the win, as he snared a line drive off the bat of Bennett Lee in the fifth inning for an unassisted double play. “It was a great night for Ralphy, hopefully take it day by day and he’ll keep rolling,” Captains acting manager Yan Rivera, son of former Captains manager Luis Rivera, said after the win and Velazquez’s big performance. Lefty Michael Kennedy used his mid-upper 70 slider effectively in four innings of work and ended up with four strikeouts and two walks and allowed just two hits. Kennedy came over from Pittsburgh in the Spencer Horowitz trade, who came from Toronto in the Andres Gimenez deal. Dylan DeLucia ‘piggybacked’ as Kennedy’s second starter, and the starter of the Captains’ 2024 championship clinching game carried things over well. He sat 91-94 with his fastball, showed a good slider and struck out five in four innings of work. An error and then a two-run double from top Tigers prospect Max Clark was the only thing that beat him on the night in an otherwise dominant performance. The Captains had to contend with 27-year-old knuckleballer Kenny Serwa, who started for the Whitecaps. He went two innings and allowed a hit, walk and struck out two with a high 80s-knuckleball. Lake County will host West Michigan again April 12 at 1 p.m., with LHP Jackson Humphries on the bump for the Captains. THE SCORE Captains 7, Whitecaps 3 ...read more read less