South Side Hit Pen Top Prospect 67: Manuel Veloz

Just days after signing with the White Sox, Veloz was on his way to being the best relief pitcher in the DSL.

Fast learner: Just days after signing with the White Sox, Veloz was on his way to being the best relief pitcher in the DSL.

Manuel Veloz
Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´2´´
185 pounds
Age: 19
SSHP rank among all right-handed relief pitchers in the system: 11

Manuel Veloz, a native Venezuelan, not only enjoyed the most success of any reliever for the DSL White Sox this year, but may have actually posted the best season of any White Sox reliever in 2019. He actually signed an international contract with the White Sox just a couple of weeks before the DSL season started. In 15 outings (one start), Veloz posted an incredible 0.91 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in 39 ⅔ innings. In those frames, he allowed just 25 hits (.179 OBA) and seven walks (4.7%) while striking out 42 (28.2%).

According to Baseball-Reference, Veloz was 0.3 years younger than the average Dominican League player, so he wasn't pitching against far less experienced players. If this mystery man continues to pitch this well next year, Veloz could move up the ladder relatively quickly. Assuming he's got a decent fastball based on his above-average strikeout rate, Veloz has shown excellent control and kept the ball down (64.5% ground ball rate) — those are terrific ingredients for success. Expect Veloz to begin the 2020 season with the AZL White Sox.