Vélez\'s career began when the Toronto Blue Jays signed him on August 27, 2001. He had to beg his mother, who wanted him to be an engineer, to sign for him (because he was only 19), but she reluctantly did. He began his professional career with the Pulaski Blue Jays in 2003. After three solid years in the minors, he was selected by the San Francisco Giants from the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2005 minor league Rule 5 draft.\n', '

In 2006, the Giants assigned Vélez to the A Augusta GreenJackets. He had an exceptional year, winning the South Atlantic League\'s Most Valuable Player award. He won the award by batting .315 with 63 extra base hits, 64 stolen bases and organization-high 91 runs batted in. The following year, he was placed on the Giants\' 40-man roster. He started the year with the AA Connecticut Defenders, but he played so well he earned a promotion to the AAA Fresno Grizzlies. However, he only played four games with Fresno before the Giants called him up for the first time. He made his debut on September 5, as a pinch hitter, as the Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3. He finished the year with four stolen bases, although he only had three hits in 11 at-bats (in addition to two walks).\n', 'In 2008, Vélez made the Giants out of spring training, but he was sent down to the Grizzlies in May for Travis Denker. After playing well at Fresno, though, he was recalled on July 8, 2008. On August 30, 2008, he hit his first career home run against the Cincinnati Reds.\n', '

In 2009, Vélez once again made the Giants out of spring training. He would play in both San Francisco and Fresno during the year, but he spent the majority of time with the Giants. He finished the year with an acceptable .267 batting average. Vélez made the Opening Day roster in 2010. His first appearance of the season came in the Giants\' 10-4 victory to complete a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on April 7. He entered the contest replacing Mark DeRosa in left field as part of a double switch in the seventh inning. The front of his jersey read "SAN FRANCICSO." It was the second year in a row that Majestic Athletic, MLB\'s official uniform supplier, committed a jersey misspelling.\n', '

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