Chase DeLauter closed out the first half by putting together the kind of stretch that quietly turned him into one of the more important pieces of Cleveland’s offense, and manager Stephen Vogt made sure to point out exactly what changed during Cleveland’s recent road trip. DeLauter is hitting .278 with 11 home runs, 46 RBI and a .794 OPS across his rookie campaign, numbers that have steadily climbed as he has settled into the league, and his production over this most recent stretch through Miami stood out even to his own manager.
Vogt broke down the specific adjustment that fueled DeLauter’s surge in comments to reporters following the series.
“I think we saw it at the end of the homestand. You know, when he hit that fastball out on Sunday against the White Sox, and really, you know, got to driving the fastball. And that’s really the one element that Chase was kind of struggling with a little bit in the big league level was driving the fastball. So, really good to see him back on those fastballs. Those were real fastballs he turned around in this series, so like I said, I couldn’t be more proud of the way we finished this first half. What a great road trip this was, especially with the way it started. Now we’re going to get four much needed days,” Vogt said.
(via #Guardians Audio) Stephen Vogt to reporters in Miami on Chase DeLauter's monster road trip:
"I think we saw it at the end of the homestand. You know, when he hit that fastball out on Sunday against the White Sox, and really, you know, got to driving the fastball. And…
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) July 12, 2026
Driving a fastball, rather than simply making contact with one, requires a hitter to get the barrel through the zone with authority on pitches that are often the hardest to turn around, and Vogt’s comments suggest that skill had lagged behind the rest of DeLauter’s offensive game up to this point. His recent stretch through Miami continued producing extra base hits, reflecting exactly the kind of adjustment Vogt described taking hold in real time.
DeLauter debuted last October and has needed time to fully adjust to the pace and quality of major league pitching, a process that included a stint on the injured list earlier this season that DeLauter himself later described as a useful mental and physical reset.
Cleveland heads into the All-Star break with real momentum, and DeLauter’s emergence as a legitimate power threat gives the lineup another dimension it did not fully have earlier in the season. If he continues driving fastballs the way he did on this road trip, DeLauter could turn into exactly the kind of middle-of-the-order threat Cleveland will need as Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez continue working their way back from injury.
NEXT: Analyst Sees A Promising Second Half Coming For Guardians
