Chase DeLauter’s Hot Start Has Taken A Troubling Turn

Chase DeLauter could not have had a better start to his first full MLB season. The Cleveland Guardians rookie outfielder made history with four home runs in his first three games, and after one week, he looked like a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year and a potential candidate for AL MVP.

But as many young players quickly find out, things are never that easy in the major leagues. Cold spells are bound to come, and the shorter they can make them, the better off they and their team will be.

Unfortunately, DeLauter is in the midst of an extended slump, and insider Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com has revealed the bad news about his hitting over the past three weeks.

“The bad news is [Chase DeLauter] stopped hitting,” Hoynes said. “In that four-game series to open the season against Seattle, he [hit] .353, but since then he’s hitting .179, 10-for-68 with one home run and seven RBIs. And that covers, you know, like a 17-game stretch.”

In his first four MLB regular-season games, DeLauter was 6-for-17. He had four home runs and five RBIs, and boasted an OPS of 1.412.

He sat out the final game of the road trip after fouling a ball off his left foot. Then, in the home opener, he went 3-for-4 and hit his fifth home run of the season, which gave every indication that the good times were going to continue.

However, DeLauter has not homered since, and he has just seven hits, though five of them have been doubles. His batting average has dropped all the way to .219, and his OPS is at .811. He is 1-for-23 over the past six games, and Cleveland has lost six of nine.

Once pitchers around the league can determine a weakness, based on getting to see multiple plate appearances, it is up to the batter to make adjustments to counter that. DeLauter could be struggling in that regard based on his lack of minor league experience, which was limited to 138 games over three seasons by multiple injuries.

Considered one of the top hitting prospects in the game, DeLauter is too talented for this slump to go on forever, but the quicker he finds a way out of it, the better it will be for both him and the Guardians.