BREAKING: Guardians No. 2 Prospect to Miss 8-12 Weeks After Surgery

An injury-plagued career continues.

Gavin Dorsey | Mar 4, 2025

Feb 26, 2024; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Chase DeLauter (6) hits a two run home run in the second inning against the San Diego Padres during a spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images / Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Guardians

Guardians fans that are excited for prized prospect Chase DeLauter to make his major league debut this season will have to wait a little longer.

On Tuesday, The Athletic's Zach Meisel reported that DeLauter recently had surgery to repair a sports hernia and would miss between eight and 12 weeks. MLB.com's Tim Stebbins later clarified the details of the injury.

"DeLauter suffered a left-side core muscle injury while doing pregame defensive work on Friday," Stebbins wrote. "He visited Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia on Monday, and Meyers confirmed the presence of a sports hernia. Following an evaluation, Meyers recommended surgery, and DeLauter had a bilateral repair to additionally stabilize his right side."

The Guardians selected DeLauter as a right fielder from James Madison with the No. 16 overall pick in 2022, but did not play that season while dealing with a broken foot. Following a foot fracture that required him to miss roughly four months, DeLauter played in 57 games in 2023 between Cleveland's AA, high-A and the Arizona Complex League.

In 2024, DeLauter split 39 games between Cleveland's AAA, AA and Arizona Complex League teams and fractured his foot again. However, he did not receive surgery.

When healthy, DeLauter has been one of the best prospects in baseball. Across 96 minor-league games, the 23-year-old has hit .317 with 13 home runs and an OPS of .904. The big issue for Cleveland is the lack of time that the top-tier prospect has actually spent healthy.

DeLauter is the No. 2 prospect in the Guardians' farm system and is ranked as MLB.com's 36th-ranked prospect overall.

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Published Mar 4, 2025

GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and assists in covering a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.