Cleveland Guardians Top 30 Prospects: #8 Chase DeLauter

I'm sure you're sick of hearing it by now, but the Cleveland Guardians have a type. For pitchers, it's college arms with excellent command and as much experience as possible. On the position player side, they prioritize bat-to-ball skills and contact over power. I'll wait for the jeers.Every now and again, a team will strike gold and find a player with the foundation they want to build around — in this instance contact skills and plate vision — who is gifted with other tools that can make a prospect star caliber. In the first round of the 2022 MLB draft, the Guardians may have found a nugget while panning for said gold. Unfortunately for Cleveland, and the fans, we'll have to wait a while to be entertained by his talents. For the player in question it was recently announced that he re-injured a broken foot that ended his collegiate career prematurely and will miss most of the 2023 season, so I figured it would be best to cut to the chase. Phrasing.Chase DeLauter is my 8th-ranked Guardians prospect, an outfielder from James Madison University drafted 16th overall by Cleveland in the 2022 MLB draft. DeLauter, 21, is the highest drafted player in Dukes program history, and a decorated collegiate player. Individually DeLauter's name is all over James Madison's single-season leaderboards, owning the highest single-season on-base percentage in program history (.576), the second-highest slugging percentage (.828) and the third-highest batting average (.437). In his three seasons with the Dukes DeLauter also earned First-Team All-CAA honors in 2021 and Second-Team All-CAA honors in 2022 before a broken foot cost him the rest of his season.[embed]https://twitter.com/NickStevensR/status/1498767048402481153?s=20[/embed]That same broken foot is what DeLauter re-aggravated that will cost him most of 2023, but the track record speaks for itself. Before the injury, there was buzz he was an option for the number one overall pick in the draft, but ultimately slid to the Guardians at 16, which may end up being a massive steal. We can debate if the level of competition in the CAA is worthy of judging a star-caliber MLB talent, but let the numbers speak for themselves.DeLauter played 24 games in 2022 for the Dukes before the broken foot, slashing .437/.576/.828 with eight doubles, eight home runs, 10 stolen bases, and 28 walks (23.7%) to 21 strikeouts (17.8%). Seriously, what's not to love? More walks than strikeouts, a 1.404 OPS, average, all of the pieces are there and it wasn't just his 2022 season.DeLauter played a total of 66 games over three seasons with James Madison, posting a .402/.520/.715 triple slash with 27 doubles, 15 home runs, 62 walks (19.2%) to 45 strikeouts (13.9%), and 24 stolen bases. Prior to struggling against Florida State in the 2022 opener DeLauter helped himself quiet some of those level of competition questions by tearing up the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2021. He appeared in 34 games for the Orleans Fire Birds slashing .298/.397/.589 with seven doubles, nine home runs, 21 walks (14.4%) to 18 strikeouts (12.3%), and five stolen bases against some premier collegiate talent.So what makes DeLauter tick? He has legitimate five-tool upside, and at 6 foot 4 inches and 235 pounds he doesn’t have to grow into his frame. DeLauter has plus raw power that already projects 30 home runs per season. With above-average speed, good instincts and a strong arm DeLauter manned center field with ease at James Madison, but will likely translate to being an above-average defensive corner outfielder in pro ball.[embed]https://twitter.com/BaseballAmerica/status/1492173331893669890?s=20[/embed]There are some concerns DeLauter's swing mechanics make him susceptible to higher velocity up in the zone, but little concern they can't be fixed. Cleveland, especially in recent seasons, has done an excellent job in the minors with implementing mechanical changes to help players maximize their talents, and DeLauter shouldn't be any different once he's healthy.It's incredibly unfortunate that DeLauter will miss most of 2023, but he's still young and the talent is evident. Barring any setbacks in his recovery and rehab I expect him to get his first taste of professional ball likely with Low-A Lynchburg late in the season. He'll have to shake off some rust, but I wouldn't be shocked if he tore up the competition in the Carolina League before showing up at Spring Training for 2024.I didn't move DeLauter from 8th on my list despite the injury update, I truly believe he's an elite talent, but it's hard to levy expectations on a player that I'm just hoping doesn't suffer any setbacks. I look forward to seeing video of DeLauter swinging off a tee in the not-so-distant future and will patiently await his Guardians organization debut. The List so Far:9. Angel Martinez10. Cody Morris11. Justin Campbell12. Jose Tena13. Xzavion Curry14. Gabriel Arias15. Jaison Chourio16. Will Brennan17. Joey Cantillo18. Juan Brito19. Nate Furman20. Petey Halpin21. Parker Messick22. Doug Nikhazy23. Tanner Burns24. Joe Lampe25. Isaiah Greene26. Jake Fox27. Jhonkensy Noel28. Jack Leftwich29. Trenton Denholm30. Peyton Battenfield