Minor League Baseball

Cleveland Guardians Top Prospect Announces Presence in Big Way During Fourth Rehab Game

Chase DeLauter, 23, is predicted to make his major league debut this season, and he's off to a good start in his rehab from a sports hernia.
Brady Farkas|
Akron RubberDucks centerfielder Chase DeLauter (22) connects with a pitch during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game at Canal Park, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Akron, Ohio.
Akron RubberDucks centerfielder Chase DeLauter (22) connects with a pitch during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game at Canal Park, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Akron, Ohio. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland Guardians' top prospect Chase DeLauter is off to a good start on his rehab assignment with the team's Arizona Complex League affiliate.

Playing in his fourth game as he rehabs from a sports hernia, DeLauter hit a home run on Wednesday. It was his first of the year. The 23-year-old outfielder is hitting .375 with a .500 on-base percentage so far. A first-round pick in 2022 out of James Madison, DeLauter is expected to make his major league debut this season.

He's the No. 2 prospect in the organization and the No. 52 prospect in the entire sport, per MLB Pipeline.

DeLauter is a .319 hitter in his minor league career, and he reached as high as Triple-A last season, playing in six games. It's unclear how long at Triple-A the Guardians think he needs this season, but if he's able to help the Guardians chase a playoff berth, you can expect him to be up in the big leagues eventually.

Cleveland is currently 25-18 and in second place in a talented American League Central. They are off on Thursday but will open a rivalry weekend series with the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night at 6:40 p.m. ET.

The following comes from DeLauter's MLB.com prospect profile:

Few players in the Minors can match DeLauter's combination of size (6-foot-3, 235 pounds), athleticism, ability to hit for both average and power, and plate discipline. He rarely strays from the strike zone and makes repeated hard contact against all types of pitches. He has an unorthodox left-handed swing that can get long and he'll get caught on his front foot at times, but his bat speed and strength allow him to pull pitches for power and drive them the other way with authority.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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