Spring training is well underway for the Cleveland Guardians in Goodyear, Arizona at Goodyear Ballpark. With spring training underway there is one player that has been the talk of the town, the top prospect for the Cleveland Guardians, outfielder Chase DeLauter. Chase was drafted 16th overall in the 2022 MLB draft from James Madison University. Since the 2022 draft Chase DeLauter has been the candy to baseball fanatics in Cleveland’s eye as his batting prowess mixed with his skill in the outfield is a hole that the Guardians have had in the roster for the last few seasons. Chase started his Minor League career with the class A Lake County Captains in 2023, batting a strong.366 average. After this stint in Lake County, Chase was called up to the class AA Akron RubberDucks at the end of the 2023 minor league season, playing in six games and a .364 batting average. This start to his minor league career is nothing to scoff at but talks of DeLauter playing in the Guardian’s outfield this season have spiked since the start of spring training. The reason for this? the absolute bomb of a home run in a spring training game on February, 27th against the Oakland A’s after subbing in for Myles Straw.

This clip can be seen below:

Chaser with a shot. 😳#GuardsSpring pic.twitter.com/188um9f7JM

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) February 27, 2024

On top of this impressive home run swing, Chase’s stat line thus far in spring training is 9 at-bats, a .444 batting average, 2 hits, an RBI, and of course a homerun as well as solid defensive efforts in the outfield. Chase has Cleveland baseball fans talking, we know he will have his time in the MLB but when should that be? In my opinion, there is no better time than the present as previously stated he brings a batting skill set that the outfield in Cleveland currently does not have. The lefty, Chase DeLauter can hit the ball there is no question about that and when you have players in the outfield like Myles Straw who is an elite defender, but batted a .238 last season with just one home run in the entirety 2023, why not let the young promising prospect with power batting ability at least split time in the outfield? One might argue it is too soon as he is just at the class AA phase of minor league development and has only spent one total year in the minors. But in my opinion, at least from my eye test, Chase looks ready to hit balls out of progressive field and play with the best baseball players in the world. My prediction is that we see Chase DeLauter in a Guardians jersey at some point during the 2024 MLB season, not the home opener like some have predicted. However, as the fan base continues to rally around chase and ask to see him on the field, much as they did last season with the call-up of Bo Naylor, the front office and managerial staff will cave at some point, and they will put Chase DeLauter in the rotation of outfielders to give some much needed offensive spark that players like Myles Straw cannot give this team.