MLB Analyst Has Concerns About Guardians' Chase DeLauter
The Cleveland Guardians' Major League team may be done for the season, but some of their big-name prospects are making some noise in the Arizona Fall League.
One of those players is 2022 draft pick Chase DeLauter Guardians' 4th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline). Many fans view DeLater as the future of Cleveland's outfield as he's someone who can hit for power while playing solid defense. However, this isn't the overall consensus around some of baseball's brightest minds.
The Athletic's Keith Law did a write-up about some of the prospects currently playing in the desert and his take on DeLauter probably isn't one Guardians fans will be happy with.
"He's still got a really awkward swing, opening his hips early with his lead elbow so high that it’s restricting his bat path, so it looks sawed-off and doesn’t let him get to much power. I didn’t see any hard contact from him in two games, but it’s really the shape of the swing and the way his hips work that bother me. He still looks like he’s cheating to get to fastballs, and pitchers will attack him accordingly if that’s the case. He did play excellent defense in right field with an easy plus arm."
Law clearly has his concerns about how DeLauter's swing will translate once he sees better pitching and continues to be promoted. But we haven't seen those struggles quite yet.
Chase DeLauter represents the Cleveland Guardians in the 2023 Arizona Fall League.
DeLauter had a slash line of .355/.417/.528 with an OPS of .945 over his 57 games across three different levels in the Minors Leagues. He currently has an OPS of .839, two home runs, and 14 RBI in the 11 games he's played in the 2023 AFL.
Will Law's worries come to fruition or will DeLauter be able to adapt even with having a swing that appears unconventional? Time will tell but let's hope for his and the organization's sake that DeLauter proves these suspicions wrong.
