Chase DeLauter’s becoming slugger Guardians fans have dreamed about 

Chase DeLauter made an early statement for the Guardians at the start of April when he racked up three hits as a part of the Guardians’ three-hit day against the Chicago Cubs in the Guardians’ home opener. 

He somehow found a way to top that in his May opener on Friday via a four-hit day against the Athletics in the Guardians’ series-opening win. 

While that game would be great by itself, it set up an incredible weekend where DeLauter went 8-for-11 with two doubles, a homer and three walks. That homer, which came in Sunday’s series finale, was DeLauter’s first longball since his homer against the Cubs in Cleveland’s home opener. 

After making statement after statement in the first week of the Guardians’ season, DeLauter spent the entirety of the Guardians’ series in Sacramento reminding everyone just how talented he is. 

Chase DeLauter has woken up from the first slump of his MLB career 

Although DeLauter’s strong performance came in a Triple-A ballpark, none of his hits were cheapies, as six of them had an exit velocity of 95+ miles per hour. He opened the series with three straight hits of 100+ mph in Friday’s series opener. 

He followed that four-hit day up with a two-hit day on Saturday before ending the series with an opposite field homer on Sunday. While DeLauter’s homer only traveled 356 feet and would only have been a home run in 13 of 30 MLB ballparks, it was still impressive given it came on a sinker that was up and away.

DeLauter may not have the fastest hands in the world, but he’s able to get on pitches quickly thanks to his choppy swing.  That worked out to his benefit against Civale. 

“I think I said early on this year, (home runs) come in bunches and they don't come in bunches,” DeLauter said after Sunday’s game, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. “I don't really like to think of myself as a home run-strikeout kind of guy. I feel like I'm a hitter, so I just try to put the barrel to the ball, and wherever it goes, it goes.”

That approach has clearly worked, as DeLauter now has a .302/.392/.554 slashline with six home runs and 21 RBI — all of which rank in the top-five among rookies. 

Those stats are even more impressive when you consider that he had a 1-for-23 slump in the middle of April that ended when he recorded a game-winning triple against the Astros on April 21. He’s gone 17-for-35 since. 

DeLauter’s time in the Guardians’ minor league system had been a series of stops and starts thanks to a variety of injuries, but his performance so far this season has made that a thing of the past. Instead he’s gone from being a guy with a murky MLB timeline on to a mainstay at the top of the Guardians’ lineup. 

And, if he keeps things up, he could become a main part of the team’s next core. 

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