Outfielder Chase DeLauter, who hasn’t played an official game since July 2025, made the Guardians’ AL Wild Card roster. DeLauter, who’s not in the Game 1 starting lineup, could join a select list of players to make their debut in the playoffs. And, it would come after three impressive, yet injury-shortened, Minor League campaigns.
A Look at DeLauter
The Guardians selected Chase DeLauter in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft after what was a strong, yet very abbreviated career with James Madison of the CAA.
DeLauter hit .382 as a freshman in 2020, a season shortened due to the pandemic. He then hit .386 as a sophomore but only played in 26 games. DeLauter blasted eight home runs and slugged .828 with the Dukes in 2022. But DeLauter broke his foot in 2022, ending his season early — and that’s been a theme for him throughout his Minor League career.
The 23-year-old spent significant time on the IL in each of the last three years. Most recently, he missed two months between July and September after wrist surgery, months after he had core surgery.
Given all those injuries, DeLauter only played 132 Minor League games across four pro years. That doesn’t take into account the Arizona Fall League, where he hit well in 2023 and 2024. Combine those 132 games, and DeLauter hit .302/.384/.504 (.888) with 20 home runs and 61 extra-base hits. Forty of those games came in Triple-A.
DeLauter has some of the best power in the Guardians’ farm system. The 23-year-old possesses very fast bat speed, something that’s been on display dating back to his college days with James Madison.
His swing is somewhat complicated; some don’t like that he gets prone to lunging out on the plate. On top of that, the swing is long, even though it didn’t punish him too much at the Minor League level. It does have some tilt and leverage.
DeLauter whiffed on 18.9% of pitches down in Triple-A this season. He also doesn’t expand the zone too much, as he only swung at pitches outside of the zone 16.9% of the time with Columbus in 2025.
As for what gave him trouble in the Minors, DeLauter was able to handle velocity. He missed at 14.5% of fastballs, and was able to fight off — and even connect well — with fastballs of 95 MPH or higher.
The soft stuff, though, did give him more of a challenge.
| Pitch Type | Whiff% |
|---|---|
| Slider/Sweeper | 26.8% |
| Changeup/Splitter | 29.4% |
Defensively, DeLauter spent time at all three outfield positions in his Minor League career. However, he did not play center at all in 2025. DeLauter started 61 total games (21 in 2025) in right field.
The Guardians selected Chase DeLauter and added him to their AL Wild Card roster against the Tigers.
Analysis
DeLauter has the opportunity to join rarified air, among the likes of Mark Kiger, Adalberto Mondesi, and most recently, Alex Kirilloff, Ryan Weathers, and Shane McClanahan. All of whom made their MLB debuts in the playoffs, with the latter three doing so during the shortened 2020 campaign.
The move accomplishes several things. For housekeeping purposes, DeLauter is now on the 40-man roster, something that had to be done between now and November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Additionally, DeLauter, scheduled to play in the AFL yet again in 2025, now gets to play truly meaningful games.
But on top of that, DeLauter does provide added pop for a Guardians team that finished last in the American League in runs scored. It didn’t stop Cleveland from making the postseason. But in October, every run matters.
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