The Cleveland Guardians have had the steadiest start to the 2026 season of any team in the majors. One month in, they haven’t won more than two games in a row, but they also have not lost more than two straight.
The level of performance has somewhat surprisingly kept them near the top of the AL Central, as they are currently tied with the much more streaky Detroit Tigers in first place. The Guardians are 14-12 entering play on Friday.
Despite hovering around .500 for the entire season to date, the Guardians have been steadily moving up various power rankings, and they have made a notable move on ESPN’s latest list, climbing to No. 10 from their preseason status of No. 13.
“Chase DeLauter has cooled after his blistering start, but the sky remains the limit for the kid from West Virginia. DeLauter can hit, and even as his average has dipped, he still has walked more than he has struck out and has flashed plenty of power. Best of all, though, is the walk-up song — John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads.’ It’s one of those songs that the crowd keeps singing well after the walk-up snippet of it stops playing. Soon, the national baseball audience is going to want to become acquainted with DeLauter,” Bradford Doolittle wrote.
The mention of DeLauter is noteworthy because, despite the up-and-down nature of his rookie season, the Guardians have maintained a steady course. When the outfielder was making history with four home runs in his first three games, Cleveland was only able to split its season-opening series with the Seattle Mariners.
Then, after DeLauter hit another home run in the home opener and had his batting average at .313 following a three-game set with the Chicago Cubs, the team was still just two games over .500. With DeLauter still batting .300 with an OPS over 1.000 after facing the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves, Cleveland was just 9-7.
Now, in the midst of an extended slump that dropped his batting average as low as .219 and his OPS near .800, the Guardians were still able to win ballgames, thanks in large part to some excellent starting pitching and the recent offensive outburst from Jose Ramirez. Fortunately, this shows that there is no pressure on DeLauter to carry the team in his first season, and that his teammates are able to do their part during the cold stretches that inevitably arrive for a young player.
DeLauter is showing signs of turning it around, with three hits in his past two games, so perhaps the long winning streak that has eluded the Guardians is about to follow.
NEXT: Guardians Prospect Is Knocking Down The Door To The Majors
