Andrew Velazquez was on the Fordham Prep bus with his teammates when his phone rang. It was his father, Kenny.
“They called,” Kenny told him.
Velazquez knew exactly what that meant. He just wasn’t fully confident until he saw it in writing. Seconds later, he did – watching a MLB First-Year Player Draft tracker on teammate Steve Fondu’s smart phone.
Velazquez, the Fordham Prep senior, was taken in the seventh round (243rd overall) by the Diamondbacks. Then the celebration commenced, the Rams all but tackling him.
“We were shaking the bus,” Velazquez said with a laugh.
The speedy, 5-foot-8 shortstop was the first high school player from New York City taken this year and the highest CHSAA player picked directly out of high school since Xaverian’s Danny Christensen, who went in the fourth round in 2002. Velazquez is also the first-ever player selected from Fordham Prep.
“I came in trying to make my mark in high school,” he said. “Today I think basically was the peak of my high school career. I think I made my mark here.”
Velazquez is committed to play college baseball at Virginia Tech, but there seems to be a very good chance of him signing with the Diamondbacks. Normally, pro organizations don’t draft a high school player this high unless they’re sure they can come to an agreement on a contract – especially this year with the new collective bargaining agreement and a cap on money determined by round.
“At this point, I think me and the Diamondbacks are on the same page,” Velazquez said. “We’ve been talking about money for awhile now. It shouldn’t be any hard negotiation, but we’ll see. If not, I’ll go to Virginia tech. But at this moment, I’m optimistic.”
Added Kenny: “That’s up to Andrew. It’s his life, it’s his money, it’s his dream. We’ll see what he wants to do. He worked hard for it.”
While other teams took a look, Arizona was the main team interested in Velazquez. Area scout Todd Donovan saw him last year at an Area Codes game tryout and has followed him since then, including this past summer with the nationally ranked Marucci Elite (La.) travel team. Velazquez knew all along that he’d be going to the Diamondbacks, it was just a question of what round.
“This guy saw something, he believes in him, the Diamondbacks believe in him,” Kenny said. “They took a shot on him. I thank them very much for it.”
Other scouts were turned off by Velazquez’s lack of size. That was never something Donovan worried about. After telling the Diamondbacks about all of Velazquez’s skills, Donovan said, they didn’t care at all about his height.
“The five tools in baseball are field, throw, hit, hit for power and run,” Donovan said. “Size is not listed in there and it hasn’t been since the game originated one hundred some years ago. Andrew is a shortstop. We believe Andrew has the tool set, the mindset, the reactions to stay there long term.”
Velazquez’s fluidity in the field, speed and love for the game, Donovan said, is what attracted him initially. His power and hitting ability are extra for the Diamondbacks. Donovan says Velazquez has “the pace of a professional” and “not a lot of panic in his game.”
“I would never ever draft a high school player in hopes to sign him if I didn’t think he could play in the major leagues,” the scout said. “This kid has skills present day that play in the major leagues – now. He is very far from the major leagues. He has a long way to go. Our job is to project.”
Fordham Prep coach Pat Deane believes that any knock on his star player due to size is silly. Velazquez, he says, is a five-tool prospect.
“Speed never slumps,” Deane said. “You might have a bad day at the plate, a bad day defensively, but you’re always going to be able to run. His speed definitely separated him from a lot of people. His arm strength, his range at short. The fact that he can drop a bunt down the first-base line and park one in right field.”
Fordham’s CHSAA Class AA baseball championship round elimination game against St. Joseph by the Sea on Tuesday was postponed due to inclement weather. The two teams will meet Wednesday at St. John’s University for the right to go to the championship against Iona Prep.
There was nothing that could have rained on Velazquez’s day, though.
“I made my first mark in history,” he said.