The Cleveland Guardians’ long World Series drought has unfortunately extended another year after they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS in six games. It was obviously not the way the fans wanted this season to end, but there were a lot of bright spots along this journey that should make the fan base feel good about the future.
One of those bright spots is young outfielder Chase DeLauter, who repeatedly showed that the moment was not too big for him throughout the postseason. He came into this season with a lot of doubts surrounding his ability to stay healthy, but the fans can now feel confident in his ability to be a mainstay in this lineup for years to come after the season he had.
He also made history in the process, as noted by Cleveland.com’s Joe Noga. With the two hits he logged in Game 6, he brought his total for the postseason to 13, which set a franchise record for a rookie in any playoff run.
“Chase DeLauter finished 2-for-5 and scored Cleveland’s first two runs, bringing his postseason hit total to 13. That’s the most hits by a Cleveland rookie in a single postseason, surpassing Brayan Rocchio’s previous record of 11 in 2024. DeLauter entered October having already established himself as an important part of Cleveland’s offense, and his performance throughout the playoffs provided another glimpse of his potential as a middle-of-the-order fixture for years to come,” Noga wrote.
His .848 OPS in 11 postseason games was quite impressive and was a slight bump up from the already impressive .820 OPS he posted in the regular season. With his ability to hit lefties and after playing in 133 games this season, DeLauter left no doubt about the fact that this team has found a franchise player who can be built around for years to come.
The man he surpassed on the list, Brayan Rocchio, had been one of the team’s best playoff performers over the past two years. Unfortunately, that hot streak ran out as he hit just .143 during this playoff run.
This wound is still fresh, but fans can hang their hats on the fact that they have a young middle-of-the-order bat to look forward to for hopefully a decade or more. The team needs to continue adding around DeLauter this offseason to get over that hump because it’s clear this team isn’t far away from finally ending that drought.
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