With Chase DeLauter off to a historic start in the first four games of the season for the Cleveland Guardians, it is fun for fans to calculate where he could go from here. The ridiculous number based on his power-hitting debut has him reaching 162 home runs this season.
That, of course, is completely unrealistic, though it is mathematically accurate at this point in time. Even with a reasonable projection, DeLauter is well on his way to a notable accomplishment.
DeLauter is on pace to make Guardians franchise history, as he could become the first outfielder to hit 25 homers for Cleveland in almost 20 years.
“DeLauter, though, has done nothing but hit when healthy, and he is well on pace to be the first Cleveland outfielder to hit at least 25 homers in a season since Grady Sizemore in 2008,” Anthony Castrovince wrote.
First, it should be acknowledged that the timeframe is a significant drought for Cleveland from three important offensive positions in the lineup. A vast majority of MLB teams have had an outfielder reach 25 home runs in the past three seasons, and every team other than Cleveland has had at least one outfielder do so since 2019.
In fact, Cleveland has rarely had an outfielder reach 20 home runs since Sizemore’s 2008 season. Shin-Soo Choo hit 22 homers in 2010 for the most by an outfielder in that span.
The way DeLauter is going, he could surpass that mark by the middle of April. He hit two home runs on Opening Day against the Seattle Mariners, and followed that by hitting one in each of the next two games. Though he did not extend his streak into the finale of the four-game series, he did have a single that broke up a no-hitter in the seventh inning.
Even considering his productive, yet injury-limited, three minor league seasons, and his outstanding performance this spring training, DeLauter’s statistics so far this season are eye-popping. He has a .353 batting average with a 1.412 OPS and four home runs among his six total hits.
The rookie may not even threaten 40 home runs when it’s all said and done, but getting to 25 certainly is well within reach if he is able to avoid the injury concerns of the past.
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