2021 South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 73: Manuel Veloz

Manuel Veloz

Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´2´´
185 pounds
Age: 20
SSS rank among all right-handed relief pitchers in the system: 11
2020 SSHP Top Prospect Rank: 67

Manuel Veloz, a native Venezuelan, not only enjoyed the most success of any reliever for the DSL White Sox in 2019, but may have actually posted the best season of any White Sox reliever in 2019.

Even more remarkable, Veloz signed an international contract with the White Sox only 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 in 2019, so he wasn’t pitching against far less experienced players. But if this mystery man continues to pitch this well in 2021, 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 play this summer with the AZL White Sox.