Former Chicago Cubs farmhand mashing in the majors for Kansas City Royals

The nature of having a stacked farm system is that you’re going to lose some players and have to be okay with watching them be successful for someone else. 

Nelson Velazquez is one of the first, but likely won’t be the last, of the Chicago Cubs’ proverbial prospect cup running over. 

The 25-year-old former Cubs’ outfielder has started the season red-hot for the Kansas City Royals. This season he’s hitting .296/.367/.593 with two homers and two doubles in just 27 at-bats. 

It’s easy to look at this and become frustrated. 

Why couldn’t the Cubs find a way to get him consistent at-bats for Nelson Velazquez.  

That’s just the nature of baseball. It’s frustrating to see that success, but who would he replace in the Cubs’ lineup right now? Ian Happ, who has one of the best on-base percentages in baseball? Seiya Suzuki, who’s proving that his second half of 2023 wasn’t a fluke? Or maybe he’d be playing designated hitter and taking at-bats from Christopher Morel or Michael Busch.

None of those scenarios are spectacular. 

At the end of the day, this is a good thing. Sometimes players need a change of scenery in order to become the player that they were always capable of being, and Velazquez appears to be blossoming before our eyes. 

Let’s not forget that the Cubs are the beneficiary of a similar situation with Michael Busch leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers. I’m sure their fans didn’t love seeing him hit a homer against them when they came to Wrigley Field last week; that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. 

That being said, let’s maybe hesitate before trading another power-hitting corner outfielder to the Royals for a reliever. Between Velazquez and Jorge Soler, it’s starting to look like a trend.

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