Guardians' Chase DeLauter named top performer Saturday

The Arizona Fall League is in full swing, and one of the Cleveland Guardians' prospects has been making an impact. The 16th overall pick in the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft, Chase DeLauter, has been named a top performer by MLB.com's staff with his performance on Saturday. 

DeLauter would go 1-4 with a walk while driving in three runs for the Peoria Javelinas in their 18-11 win over the Salt River Rafters. Peoria improved to a perfect 5-0 on the season with the win.

DeLauter's two-run double in the top of the first inning set the tone for the Javelinas, who ended the night with 18 runs and 18 hits. The No. 4 Guardians prospect was responsible for three of those RBIs, pushing him into the lead among Fall League players with 11. DeLauter added a sacrifice fly and a walk to his ledger, giving him a .333 average and an .894 OPS through the first week of play.

While it is only a handful of games, and there is a tendency for these numbers to be inflated due to where the games take place, seeing DeLauter race out to an early 11 RBIs through five games is still impressive. DeLauter's seven hits are tied for fourth-most in Arizona with three others.

DeLauter spent most of his time with the Lake County Captains this past year, slashing .366/.403/.549 with 18 doubles and four home runs while driving in 31 across 42 games. The highly regarded prospect also made six appearances for the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, collecting eight hits (one double) and scoring three times.

The now 22-year-old outfielder is considered to be Cleveland's number four prospect, behind only Brayan Rocchio, Kyle Manzardo, and Daniel Espino, according to MLB Pipeline. It is going to take a little bit of time for him to reach the big leagues, as his estimated time of arrival is 2025. However, there is the possibility that the timeline could be shifted up if DeLauter can continue to progress through the minors at his current rate.