Chase DeLauter

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Cleveland Guardians #1 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 60/High
  
  Track Record: DeLauter was unheralded as a prep player at Hedgesville High in West Virginia and went to James Madison as a two-way player. While he played well at JMU in 20202 and 2021, the pandemic severely limited his game time. DeLauter remained under the radar going into summer 2021, when he broke out in the Cape Cod League, tying for the league lead with nine home runs in 34 games. He was off to a strong start in the spring of 2022, but a broken left foot in April brought an end to his junior season after just 24 games. The Guardians drafted DeLauter 16th overall in 2022 and signed him for $3.75 million, which was roughly slot value for the pick. He did not play after the draft and his pro debut was further delayed in 2023 when he required another surgery on his foot, sidelining him until June. DeLauter spent most of 2023 at High-A Lake County, reaching Double-A Akron for six games and then extending his season in the Arizona Fall League. He hit .299/.385/.529 in 23 AFL games, leading the league with 27 RBIs and ranking among the leaders with five home runs.
  
  Scouting Report: DeLauter first stands out for his size--he is listed at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds--and his powerful lefthanded swing. He’s a disciplined hitter with good strike-zone awareness. DeLauter rarely expands the zone and shows good barrel control, making contact on pitches in the zone 88% of the time in 2023 and chasing just 20% of the time. He swings the bat judiciously, making pitchers come into the strike zone and not digging himself into early pitchers’ counts. DeLauter has plus raw power and gets to it well, consistently making hard contact. He averaged an 89 mph exit velocity on his batted balls in 2023 and topped out near 111. He gets the ball in the air consistently, with one of the lowest groundball rates in the Guardians’ minor league system. DeLauter looks like a prototype corner outfielder, but he has above-average speed, covers ground well and has good instincts in the outfield. He split time in 2023 evenly between center field and right field and could settle in either spot. He has a plus arm.
  
  The Future: Once DeLauter got underway in 2023, his season couldn’t have gone much better. He peaked at Double-A Akron and should return there to open 2024. The early returns have been great, and more than anything else, DeLauter needs more at-bats to further his development. The Guardians’ lineup has a desperate need for power after finishing last in MLB in home runs and 29th in slugging in 2023. DeLauter could add a needed impact bat to Cleveland’s lineup, potentially by the end of 2024. N
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 55 | Field: 50 | Arm: 60
• 
  Ranked Cleveland Guardians #9 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
  
  Track Record: DeLauter was unheralded at Hedgesville (W.Va.) High and went to James Madison as a two-way player. While he played well at JMU over his first two seasons, the pandemic severely limited his game time, and he remained under the radar going into summer 2021. That's when he broke out in the Cape Cod League, where he tied for the league lead with nine home runs while hitting .298/.397/.589 in 34 games. DeLauter was off to a strong start in the spring of 2022, but a broken foot in April brought an end to his season. Despite the injury, he became the first player in program history to be drafted in the first round when Cleveland took him 16th overall.
  
  Scouting Report: DeLauter first stands out for his size at a listed 6-foot-4, 235 pounds and then for his powerful lefthanded swing. He is a disciplined hitter with good strike-zone awareness. He walked more than he struck out during his college career, rarely expanding his zone and showing good barrel control. He has plus raw power and gets to it well, consistently making hard contact. DeLauter looks like a prototypical corner outfielder, but he has plus speed, covers ground and has good instincts in the outfield. That has allowed him to play center field to this point, and he'll continue to develop there, though an eventual move to a corner would not be unexpected. He has a plus arm.
  
  The Future: DeLauter is not as polished as a typical first-round college position player. He got just 323 plate appearances over three years at JMU--or about what an everyday player for a College World Series team gets in a season--and his experience against high-level competition is limited. That lack of quality at-bats will be further tested by the news that he will miss at least the first half of the 2023 season after having surgery to replace a screw in the fifth toe on his left foot, the same injury that sidelined him in 2022.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 50. Power: 60. Speed: 55. Fielding: 50. Arm: 60

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #19 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: James Madison Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 20.8
  BA Grade: 55/High
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 60 | Field: 55 | Arm: 60
  DeLauter exploded during the summer of 2021 in the Cape Cod League, when he hit .298/.397/.589 with nine home runs, 21 walks and 18 strikeouts with Orleans. That performance with a wood bat, combined with his gaudy numbers with James Madison and a loud set of physical tools, elevated him into the top tier of 2022 draft prospects, with some scouts citing him as the top player in the class. DeLauter scuffled out of the gate initially in a tough matchup against Florida State, with a swing path that looked steeper and stiffer than it did over the summer. He quickly found his form and went on to hit .437/.576/.828 with eight home runs and more walks (28) than strikeouts (21) for the Dukes before a broken left foot ended his season after just 24 games. DeLauter is a large and physical, 6-foot-4, 235-pound center fielder who looks like he should be in a corner outfield position, but he’s a surprisingly good runner for his size and has turned in double-plus run times in the 60-yard dash. That speed, plus solid instincts, have led some scouts to believe he can at least start his career in center field, and he has the plus arm strength to profile in right if he slows down or is forced off the position by a better defender. DeLauter’s statistical portfolio will be more heavily criticized as a small school hitter, but he has shown a precocious batting eye and rarely expands the zone with good contact as well. DeLauter has plus raw power that translated to a wood bat in the Cape Cod League, and while he never hit double-digit home runs with James Madison, he also never played more than 26 games in a season and was well on his way in 2022 before getting injured. He hasn’t faced a large sample of elite velocity, which will be another question he’ll need to answer at the next level. DeLauter should become the highest-drafted player in James Madison’s history (outfielder Kellen Kulbacki was selected No. 40 in 2007) and fits somewhere in the middle of the first round on talent.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #28 prospect in 2024
• Ranked Baseball America's #90 prospect in 2023

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
  
  Track Record: DeLauter was unheralded at Hedgesville (W.Va.) High and went to James Madison as a two-way player. While he played well at JMU over his first two seasons, the pandemic severely limited his game time, and he remained under the radar going into summer 2021. That's when he broke out in the Cape Cod League, where he tied for the league lead with nine home runs while hitting .298/.397/.589 in 34 games. DeLauter was off to a strong start in the spring of 2022, but a broken foot in April brought an end to his season. Despite the injury, he became the first player in program history to be drafted in the first round when Cleveland took him 16th overall.
  
  Scouting Report: DeLauter first stands out for his size at a listed 6-foot-4, 235 pounds and then for his powerful lefthanded swing. He is a disciplined hitter with good strike-zone awareness. He walked more than he struck out during his college career, rarely expanding his zone and showing good barrel control. He has plus raw power and gets to it well, consistently making hard contact. DeLauter looks like a prototypical corner outfielder, but he has plus speed, covers ground and has good instincts in the outfield. That has allowed him to play center field to this point, and he'll continue to develop there, though an eventual move to a corner would not be unexpected. He has a plus arm.
  
  The Future: DeLauter is not as polished as a typical first-round college position player. He got just 323 plate appearances over three years at JMU--or about what an everyday player for a College World Series team gets in a season--and his experience against high-level competition is limited. That lack of quality at-bats will be further tested by the news that he will miss at least the first half of the 2023 season after having surgery to replace a screw in the fifth toe on his left foot, the same injury that sidelined him in 2022.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 50. Power: 60. Speed: 55. Fielding: 50. Arm: 60
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
  
  Track Record: DeLauter was unheralded at Hedgesville (W.Va.) High and went to James Madison as a two-way player. While he played well at JMU over his first two seasons, the pandemic severely limited his game time, and he remained under the radar going into summer 2021. That's when he broke out in the Cape Cod League, where he tied for the league lead with nine home runs while hitting .298/.397/.589 in 34 games. DeLauter was off to a strong start in the spring of 2022, but a broken foot in April brought an end to his season. Despite the injury, he became the first player in program history to be drafted in the first round when Cleveland took him 16th overall.
  
  Scouting Report: DeLauter first stands out for his size at a listed 6-foot-4, 235 pounds and then for his powerful lefthanded swing. He is a disciplined hitter with good strike-zone awareness. He walked more than he struck out during his college career, rarely expanding his zone and showing good barrel control. He has plus raw power and gets to it well, consistently making hard contact. DeLauter looks like a prototypical corner outfielder, but he has plus speed, covers ground and has good instincts in the outfield. That has allowed him to play center field to this point, and he'll continue to develop there, though an eventual move to a corner would not be unexpected. He has a plus arm.
  
  The Future: DeLauter is not as polished as a typical first-round college position player. He got just 323 plate appearances over three years at JMU--or about what an everyday player for a College World Series team gets in a season--and his experience against high-level competition is limited. That lack of quality at-bats will be further tested by the news that he will miss at least the first half of the 2023 season after having surgery to replace a screw in the fifth toe on his left foot, the same injury that sidelined him in 2022.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 50. Power: 60. Speed: 55. Fielding: 50. Arm: 60
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 55/High
  
  August Update: DeLauter&#39s stock rose dramatically after a strong 2021 Cape Cod League, which came after a stellar sophomore season at James Madison. He started his draft year slowly, then quickly adjusted and began looking like himself as the season wore on. Unfortunately, his year lasted just 24 games because of a broken left foot. Even so, he has the upside of a center fielder who can hit for average and power. If he moves out of center field, his strong throwing arm will allow him to play right field. Skeptics will point to the lesser competition he encountered with James Madison and the relatively small sample size (just 66 games) of his college career. The Guardians were convinced enough, however, to select DeLauter with their first-round pick.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 60. Run: 60. Field: 55. Arm: 60.