Chase DeLauter offers look at mesmerizing power with majestic spring training homer 

The news of Chase DeLauter's injury demise has been greatly exaggerated. 

While DeLauter being a late scratch from the Guardians’ lineup last week sent up alarm bells due to his injury history, manager Stephen Vogt assuaged some of those fears by saying that DeLauter could make his return to the lineup soon. 

And he did just that on Sunday and wasted no time making an impression by mashing a 389 foot home run in the Guardians’ 8-3 spring training win over the Rockies. The impressive blast left his bat at 105.6 miles per hour, which is the second-hardest ball that he’s hit all spring. 

Chase DeLauter shows off majestic power with spring training home run against Rockies 

Perhaps the most impressive thing about DeLauter’s home run was the pitch that it came on. Normally, most home runs hit that hard come on a missed pitch that floats into a hitter's nitro zone. 

But this homer came on a 97.9 miler per hour fastball from Jaden Hill that was a good inch or two inside. Not only does it take incredible hand speed to catch up to a pitch like that, normally the only thing a left-handed hitter can do with that pitch is just try to shoot it through the right side of the infield. 

But DeLauter did so much more than that by shooting the ball deep into the standing room section at Goodyear Ballpark. 

DeLauter finished his day 2-for-2 with a double and homer before being lifted for pinch-hitter Kody Huff. That strong day is a tangible reminder of just how much DeLauter means to the Guardians’ potential success in 2026. 

Although he didn’t get much of a chance to make an impression in his short MLB cameo during the postseason last season, he has 80-grade power and possesses the exact kind of skillset the Guardians have struggled to develop from their outfielders. 

If DeLauter’s able to stay healthy, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be on the Guardians’ Opening Day roster. That was true at the start of camp and it’s even more true now since Steven Kwan has shown a willingness to play center field. 

That move would free up the corner outfield spots for DeLauter and George Valera, who both offer extreme offensive upside while having some defensive limitations.

But after a season in which Cleveland’s outfielders combined to hit just .225, DeLauter and Valera are exciting (and cheap) options who are obvious upgrades over what Vogt had to work with last year. 

Part of the reason the Guardians stayed away from adding any outfielders this offseason was because of DeLauter, and he did a solid job showing why that was the case on Sunday.