The Cleveland Guardians kept things quiet this offseason, but you never want to sleep on a team with Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan in the lineup.
That’s proving true again this season. Cleveland’s gotten off to a solid start that’s kept them competitive near the top of the AL Central standings.
They checked in at No. 14 in last week’s power rankings, and a rough stretch could’ve dropped them further if not for what Chase DeLauter did at the plate.
The 16th overall pick from the 2022 draft is making quite the impression in his rookie campaign.
Across 32 games, DeLauter’s hitting .304/.392/.554 with eight doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 21 RBIs. Those are numbers that get people’s attention.
His hot week was enough to catch the eye of Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller, who bumped Cleveland up one spot to No. 13 in the latest rankings.
“The Guardians went .500 for the week, but Chase DeLauter was even better than that, going a remarkable 13-for-22 at the dish. You might recall this rookie also had five home runs within the first eight games of the season…We’ll see if he continues to be the type of player who just has these stretches in which he becomes a walking inferno, but he is very much still in the AL Rookie of the Year conversation.”
Miller’s right about the Rookie of the Year conversation. DeLauter’s got some serious competition in slugger Munetaka Murakami, who’s tied with Aaron Judge for most home runs at this point in the season.
What makes DeLauter interesting is those hot streaks Miller mentioned. Five homers in his first eight games, then this 13-for-22 tear when the team needed it most.
The Guardians have always been good at developing young talent, and DeLauter seems like he could be their next success story. At 22, he’s showing the kind of power and plate discipline that translates well to the big leagues.
Cleveland’s not going to wow anyone with big-name signings, but they don’t need to with players like this coming up through the system.
