What we learned about Chase DeLauter in the 2025 MLB postseason

It came out of nowhere. But Chase DeLauter was ready for the challenge.

With no major league experience, DeLauter was called up to the big leagues on Tuesday, Sept. 30, ahead of the Cleveland Guardians' Wild Card round matchup against the Detroit Tigers. The team needed a spark off the bat, and the youngster has been able to provide just that all year long with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.

While he was sidelined by injuries for much of 2025, the Guardians decided to give him a chance to see a few major league pitches in one of the grandest stages of them all: the MLB postseason.

He would appear in six at-bats for the team, recording a single and a walk. He struck out just once.

It wasn't an exciting, eye-catching performance from the 23-year-old prospect, but he did impress. He wasn't shook up by the high stakes of the timing in which he was called-up.

He wasn't selected to play in the Game One loss on Tuesday, but manager Stephen Vogt opted to give him a shot in Games Two and Three. This opportunity to play made DeLauter the sixth player in the modern era to debut in the postseason.

"It's so surreal. I didn't know I was starting until I had breakfast this morning in the clubhouse," he said on Wednesday morning. "It hit me like a truck. All the emotions. All the nerves. I felt like once I got out here I settled in."

He started in center field for the team in both games, but was eventually moved to right field for two innings. He recorded five put outs, one assist and one error for a total fielding percentage of 85.7%.

His only error came on a routine fly ball in the first inning of play in Game Two with the sun directly in his eyes. Mistakes happen, and the rest of the roster knew it was a fluke for DeLauter. They showed respect and acted as if nothing happened. None of the other outfielders said anything to him and everyone else played on to avoid the mistake from causing frustration for the former first-round selection.

Later in that game, he showed his arm strength, something scouts have raved about in his game for years, with a 92.1 mph toss to José Ramírez, which helped to hold off a Tiger attempting to round second and go to third.

When asked about his ability to handle the nerves of playing at Progressive Field, which has some of the loudest fans in all of baseball, DeLauter spoke to how the noise and excitement of the Cleveland faithful actually helped his composure.

"To be honest. I think it calmed me down more," he said. "It really made me feel like I belonged and it kinda carried me through the day."

The front office has been waiting for one of Cleveland's top prospects to be given the chance to play at the highest level. It may have just been for two games, but the way he rose to the occasion proves he's meant to be up with the major league roster.

He's just 23-years-old, and if he can stay healthy, he should spend much more time up with the Guardians in 2026.

“We’ve been waiting all year for (DeLauter) to be healthy to come help us win games,” Vogt said after he was called up. “It just hadn’t happened. Now he’s healthy, so let’s go.”

There are still a few months to go until spring ball rolls around and Cleveland gets to see DeLauter back in the batters box, but for now, he has left a lot of promising expectations to build upon.