Chase DeLauter Is Every Bit the Star He Was Expected to Be

In an AL Central division that’s struggled to stay relevant in terms of top-end competitiveness in recent years and an American League landscape that pales in comparison to its National League counterpart, the Cleveland Guardians have found away to stand out.

At 32-23 on the season, they trail only the AL East power duo of the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees for the best record in the AL.

One reason in particular why they’ve gone from postseason Cinderella story in 2025 to AL powerhouse to start 2026 is their youth movement. While many eyes may turn to former first-overall draft pick Travis Bazzana, who’s been great in his own right since getting the call to the majors earlier this, the true headliner of Cleveland’s core for the future is former top prospect Chase DeLauter.

Entering the season, the Guardians featured five top-100 prospects in Just Baseball’s preseason rankings, with DeLauter ranking 20th. After making his major-league debut in the postseason last year, he seemed a shoo-in to occupy a regular role from the get-go in 2026.

So far, in his first taste of regular-season ball, the young outfielder has done nothing but run with the opportunity Cleveland has given him.

Stats were taken prior to play on May 25.

Chase DeLauter Is Budding Into One of the League’s Brightest Future Stars

As a prospect, DeLauter was one of the more well-rounded outfield talents any system had to offer. His hitting tools were the ones to marvel at with his 70 FV plate discipline tool, accompanied by a 60-grade power and very polished 55-grade hit tool.

DeLauter’s exit velocities always stood out in his offensive profile, as pointed out by our Aram Leighton in his preseason scouting report on DeLauter.

“The exit velocities have only continued to climb for DeLauter, now comfortably plus in that territory,” Leighton wrote. “Though it’s a bit less than a 100-game sample, DeLauter’s EV90 of 107 MPH in that span stands out with a Hard Hit rate right around 50%.”

Paired with that is impressive plate discipline too, which made him one of the smarter hitting prospects atop the rankings.

“He does a great job of both hunting the locations he wants and laying off/spoiling the locations he does not,” Leighton also wrote.

And so far, through his first 50 games and 207 plate appearances, DeLauter looks as advertised in the big leagues. In fact, the latest BetMGM odds on AL Rookie of the Year places him among the top three favorites alongside Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle and Chicago’s Munetaka Murakami.

He’s slashing .261/.348/.450 with seven homers, 30 RBI and a 127 wRC+. This places him comfortably amongst qualified major-league rookies across the board, justifying the more bullish support from him on the betting market for some first-year hardware.

That mix of plate discipline and power is what made him such an intriguing prospect, and so far he has translated it extremely well to the major leagues. As touched upon already, he leads all major-league rookies in strikeout rate, and his walk rate places him among the top six among big-league freshmen. He’s currently walking more than he is striking out.

From an underlying metrics perspective, when stacked up amongst the rest of the league, it’s no different either.

Sure, the hard-hit metrics haven’t caught up to par with the numbers he was posting in the minors a season ago, but their not egregiously low either and crossing into the dreaded dark blue territory in Baseball Savant.

And that trademark plate discipline shows he’s making smart plate decisions. As long as he continues with that approach, one would think the quality of contact should increase as he gets more comfortable against major-league arms.

To make matters even better for the youngster, even when he was just getting his first taste of the major-league game, under the brightest lights possible in the postseason, his skillset was still evident of a confident big-league hitter to be.

Sure, his 1-for-6 showing wasn’t anything to write home about, but a 14.3% walk rate against the highest level of opposing pitching was certainly something that couldn’t be ignored, especially after essentially being put in the ultimate sink-or-swim situation for a debutant.

While the defense in right field may need bit of work, with a -2 DRS and OAA along with a -1 FRV, the Guardians will gladly take what he’s doing with the bat any day of the week.

He’s been one of the top rookie hitters in the sport this season, and he’s even outperforming the likes of bona fide stars in José Ramírez and Steven Kwan this year. The potential was always there, but he’s now living up to the high praise that he carried as he climbed through the Guardians’ ranks.