The Path for Chase DeLauter To Win American League Rookie of the Year

Here's what the Cleveland Guardians rookie needs to do to take home this year's award.

Oct 2, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter (34) celebrates after a single for his first big league hit in the second inning against the Detroit Tigers during game three of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Chase DeLauter gave everyone a slight scare a week ago when he was scratched from a Spring Training lineup with lower-body soreness.

He has since returned to action, and he has been tearing the cover off the ball.

The biggest question now for DeLauter is whether or not he will make the Opening Day roster for the Guardians.

CAN DeLAUTER WIN AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR?

Cleveland Guardians' Chase DeLauter watches his hit during Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series on Oct. 1, 2025, in Cleveland. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The simple answer is yes, he can. The more complicated portion of this is how much action he will get. Injuries have played a massive role in his career so far, and the bug has already struck this Spring. Sure, it was a precautionary scratch from the lineup, and he has been fine ever since, but how many dings and scratches will he acquire throughout a 162-game season?

He has dealt with a foot fracture, a hamstring injury, a sports hernia, a hamate fracture, and now he is dealing with body soreness. The hope for the Guardians is that by taking it easy with DeLauter, he will be healthy more often than not.

Not only are his injuries a slight concern, but his being on the Major League roster may concern some as well. It is clear the team is protecting DeLauter, so what will happen if he enters a month stretch where he just cannot hit, he is struggling in the field, and it is affecting his overall attitude day in and day out?

Will the team let him ride it out, or will they option him for a few weeks so he can get his head back on straight? While many are of the belief that the team will let him ride it out, it is hard to trust that that will be the case definitively.

While DeLauter is crushing it so far this Spring, slashing a .389 / .450 / 1.117 line through 18 at-bats, it is no guarantee that this will continue into the regular season. If he can keep that OPS up past .850 and his average close to .300, he will most certainly be among the leaders for American League Rookie of the Year.

WHO IS HIS COMPETITION?

Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle throws towards the first base against New York Yankees during the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Not only does he have a rough path to win the award personally, but DeLauter also has some really strong competition in the American League to win the title as best rookie. Fortunately for DeLauter, some names are not certain, and one is a pitcher.

Trey Yesavage is the odds-on favorite for the award at Vegas sportsbooks, but pitchers have a really hard time racking up enough WAR to win these awards. Yesavage is amazing and rightfully among the favorites, but time will tell if Yesavage can stay healthy and can rack up enough WAR to compete with the other candidates.

Two faces that will become familiar to Guardians fans are Kevin McGonigle, Carter Jensen, and Munetaka Murakami. All three of these play in the AL Central, and all three are expected to get playing time.

McGonigle will likely play a lot for the Tigers, Jensen will likely alternate catching and DH duties with Salvador Perez in Kansas City, and Murakami is a marquee free agent signing who will play in some capacity every day.

Then there is Samuel Basallo, who has competition with Adley Rutschman and is currently battling an injury of his own. There are plenty of impressive names on the list ahead of DeLauter, but if DeLauter helps lead Cleveland to an AL Central title, bats close to .300, and shows flashes of power and speed, it will be hard to compete with that. It also helps that his competition is mainly catchers and DHs, along with a pitcher in Yesavage and two Japanese stars making their MLB debuts in Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto.

Catchers and pitchers simply do not rack up WAR the way a normal position player can and will, and that is to the advantage of DeLauter.

DeLauter has MLB experience, is largely healthy, and is currently a man on fire. If he can fight through some minor injuries this year and play at a high level nearly every day, the path to winning AL Rookie of the Year is right there for him.