Chase DeLauter was one of the best stories in Cleveland baseball through the first month and a half of the 2026 season. The last several weeks have raised a legitimate question about whether the league has started to figure him out.
Jensen Lewis, the former Cleveland pitcher turned analyst, turned his attention to DeLauter and did not sugarcoat what he is seeing.
“This is usually the time when the league has gotten a pretty good scouting report, especially on first or second year guys. So, you know you start to see those adjustments influence the game plan,” Lewis said.
When will Chase DeLauter adjust back to the MLB? #GuardsBall@JLEWFIFTY points out the difficulty of adjusting to MLB pitching as a youngster.
DeLauter is slashing a paltry .193/.246/.211 over his last 57 ABs. pic.twitter.com/o6H5cKL6FQ
— BIGPLAY Cleveland Show (@BIGPLAYCLEshow) June 4, 2026
A .193 average and a .211 slugging percentage over 57 at bats is genuinely concerning production from a player who entered the season as one of Cleveland’s primary offensive threats and team RBI leader through the first two months. The slugging percentage is particularly alarming. A .211 slugging mark means DeLauter has been generating almost no extra base hits over this stretch, which strips away the dimension of his game that makes him most dangerous as a middle of the order presence.
Young hitters go through stretches in their first extended major league exposure where the league catches up to their tendencies, pitchers find their weaknesses, and the player has to make a mechanical or mental adjustment to get back on track. This is not a new phenomenon. It is one of the most predictable patterns in baseball player development, and Lewis is speaking from experience as a former pitcher who watched young hitters go through exactly this process.
Through 214 at bats, DeLauter is slashing .257 with a .335 on base percentage and a .751 OPS with 7 home runs, 32 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. Those are the numbers that earned him the team RBI lead heading into June and kept Stephen Vogt putting his name in the lineup every day. The 32 RBI total in particular reflects a player who was delivering in important situations earlier in the season when Cleveland needed every run it could manufacture.
Over his last 15 games, DeLauter is slashing .204 with a .246 on base percentage and a .222 OPS, numbers that reflect a player who has gone from a team offensive cornerstone to a below average contributor in a relatively short window. The last 3 games against New York produced no hits in 9 at bats, continuing a run of quiet performances that have coincided with the broader Cleveland offensive struggles away from home.
Lewis is not writing DeLauter off. He is raising a question that the Cleveland coaching staff is almost certainly working to answer every day in batting practice and film sessions. The adjustment has to come, and the history of this organization suggests they have the developmental infrastructure to help a young player find it.
The last 57 at bats have been difficult. What DeLauter does with the next 57 will tell the real story.
NEXT: MLB Insider Names The Perfect Fit For Guardians Ahead Of Deadline
