While Chase DeLauter’s historic start for the Cleveland Guardians was thrilling to watch, it may have done him more harm than good, at least as far as expectations are concerned. The rookie outfielder hit four home runs in his first three MLB regular-season games, leading to dreams and projections about how many homers he could actually hit.
DeLauter upped the ante by hitting his fifth home run of the season in the Guardians’ home opener on April 3. However, since then, he has just one home run, leading some fans and analysts to express a mild fear about what’s happening.
With that in mind, insider Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com is addressing the concern about DeLauter’s decline in power and expressing confidence that there is nothing to worry about.
“Relax. DeLauter is a good hitter, period. He’s a rookie. He’s not a pure power hitter right now. He has only 16 strikeouts compared to 21 walks. He has 10 doubles. A lefty hitter, he’s batting .405 vs. left-handed pitching. Just let him swing the bat and see what happens. Don’t get him focused on homers,” Pluto wrote.
DeLauter hit two home runs on Opening Day against the Seattle Mariners, and then one in each of the next two games. It was a ridiculous 216-homer pace for a 162-game season that obviously was impossible to maintain.
But since hitting No. 5 in the eighth game of the season, DeLauter has hit just one more since, on May 3 against the Athletics in offense-friendly Sacramento. That covers a span of 121 at-bats and 34 games played.
However, during that time, DeLauter has remained very effective at the plate. Relying on a focused approach, he is batting .348 in May with an on-base percentage of .426 and a .926 OPS. This month, he has at least one hit in eight of the 12 games he’s played, with six multi-hit games.
It is a highly impressive performance for a rookie whose three-year minor league career was limited by multiple injuries. The fact that DeLauter has been able to play in 41 of Cleveland’s 46 games so far this season might be his most noteworthy accomplishment, and it should not be overlooked or discounted.
With his size and strength, as long as DeLauter continues to put the bat on the ball, the home runs will come, and these springtime concerns will be overtaken by summertime success.
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