Vince Velasquez
Major League pitcher — Astros, Phillies, Padres, White Sox, Pirates, Cubs — and Lotte Giants in Korea.
Vincent John Velasquez
Vince Velasquez was born on 7 June 1992 in Montclair, California, and was a multi-sport athlete at Garey High School in Pomona; when bone spurs in his right elbow kept him from pitching and playing shortstop, he taught himself to field left-handed. The Houston Astros took him in the second round of the 2010 draft, and he chose to pitch for them rather than play shortstop at Cal State Fullerton. Tommy John surgery that year kept him off the field until 2012; he then helped the Lancaster JetHawks to a California League title in 2014.
He made his major-league debut in 2015 and after one season was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the deal that sent Ken Giles to Houston, striking out 25 batters in his first two starts. Injuries, including a season-ending finger injury in 2017, interrupted the following years; during the 2020 pause he widened his pitch repertoire and has since alternated between starting and relief.
Released by the Phillies in September 2021, he has pitched for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, and for the Lotte Giants of Korea's KBO League, and is now in the Kansas City Royals organisation.
How the name is written
Californian, of Mexican descent: Velasquez, no accent, pronounced veh-LAS-kehz.
Sources
Facts in this profile are drawn from the Wikipedia article(s) linked below, consulted on 21 September 2026; the text is original. Wikipedia (English)
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