5 prospects in the Cleveland Guardians organization to watch this season

1. Chase DeLauter, OF

The Cleveland Guardians have two strong prospects knocking on the door of the majors with Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo. While both are worthy of this list, only one will be included to make room for others and that's DeLauter. Both are strong contenders for the list, but when it comes to needs in Cleveland, the edge goes to DeLauter.

One name that was a consistent bright spot during spring training for the Guardians was Chase DeLauter. In 13 games during the spring, DeLauter logged 25 at-bats and slashed .520/.600/1.040. The impact he had was enough to raise eyebrows to the point of consideration for an Opening Day call-up. If the slash line wasn't enough, DeLauter added 10 RBI, nine runs scored, and four home runs. Perhaps the most promising aspect was his five walks to just four strikeouts.

When you consider all the contributing factors, it makes sense why Cleveland started the season with DeLauter in the minors. Service time, seeing what others can do, getting him more at-bats, the list goes on. However, if DeLauter makes the early impact in the minors that he made in Goodyear, it won't be long before he's in Cleveland.

Currently in Akron, DeLauter has had some early struggles in the first five games, slashing just .118/.318/.177. Again, high walk numbers are promising, but just two hits isn't going to help his case. Those numbers will need to improve if he wants to move up to Columbus or Cleveland. Luckily, at just 22-years old, there's time for that.

For Cleveland, the duo of Ramon Laureano and Will Brennan are covering right field as of now. Should either waiver or DeLauter catch fire, there's an opportunity in right field with the Guardians for the organization's top prospect. Cleveland invested heavily in DeLauter, using the 16th overall pick on him in the 2022 MLB Draft out of James Madison, so there will be a focus on his development.