Prolly the biggest: “If this guy has at-bats every day, how is he not the best rookie?” of the current 2026 fantasy baseball rookie series, and that he made the Guards’ postseason lineup begs the question: “Why wouldn’t he Chase DeLauter do you have Jump Street playtime every day?” Well, he’s left-handed, so I doubt he sees at-bats every day, even if he breaks camp. He’s the strong side of the platoon guy until he earns at-bats against everyone, which is bullshit. I don’t know who started this with each potential customer, but I hate it. How can a lefty rookie learn to hit lefties if they never face them? Rhetorical! Guards don’t (normally) drag their heels in promoting guys, so Chase DeLauter almost seems to have a ticket to break camp and Travis Bazzana is likely right behind him. (Maybe in June? I’ll dig deeper into him later in the offseason.) DeLauter was actually a guy I wrote a 2025 fantasy outlook post for, and assumed he’d break camp last year, but he was sidelined for three months in March due to nuclear surgery. Hilariously, in the spring of 2024 (yes, 2024), I said this: “I saw DeLauter’s ESPN ranking of 233rd overall and thought I should take a look at him. I don’t know what ESPN knows, but no one else I’ve talked to thinks he’s breaking camp. The earliest estimated time of arrival is June, and a lot can happen between now and June. That said, I don’t mind having a flyer in your last round if you want to put it away, but you will be hit with injuries and you have to drop it before April 7. And that’s me quoting me! To ask a question again, did they have DeLauter at 233rd overall in the 2024 rankings? What? Ha, okay, moving on. So, what can we expect from Chase DeLauter for fantasy baseball in 2026?
I think the one big advantage of ESPN ranking him in 2024 is that Chase DeLauter has been ready for it for a while (okay, there’s another takeaway about ranking him in 2024, but we’ll go ahead and leave that unsaid). No, not quite ready in March 2024, but he was probably ready in August or September 2024, then he had a bad injury for 2025, so I don’t see how he’s not ready now. My other problem with him is that he is basically zero at stealing. That’s fine, because the other tools are loud, as they say. “Those” who say “loudly” about “tools” are scouts. Here are examples:
Chase DeLauter – Cleveland Guardians (1)* pic.twitter.com/DurhtZjoc9
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) February 27, 2024
Ha, I’m not sure what else there is to see. You want to see him walking, because he does that often. I can’t believe we’re five or six years into my rookie series and this is the first time I’ve mentioned the poor video quality of this. Anyway! Ho this? DeLauter:
Chase DeLauter – Cleveland Guardians (4)* pic.twitter.com/cQtF8RLx0t
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) March 20, 2024
He’s a monstrous lefty who takes a ton of walks. That’s who he is. This is who he has been for a few years now. He hit 7/1/.264 with a walk and strikeout percentage of 15.8. Yes, 15.8% for both. He’s a .380 OBP guy with power. In my rookie preview post for him last year, I said, “So he’s old. Not like a dinosaur, but Chase DeLauter is 23 and played fewer than 40 games in the minors last year. Is he prone to injuries? You can’t say the tendency out loud, by the way, without sounding like Dr. Evil. He battled a hamstring and a broken foot this year. Basically, a wasted year. Oh, and the broken foot was a foot he had surgery on twice. I don’t know what’s going on with his tootsies, but if they ever do an adaptation of My Left Foot, I have a suggestion for Daniel Day Lewis’s role. And that’s me quoting me! And then he missed a good chunk of 2025. Yeah, he’s got injury issues. Sorry to keep doing this, but I also said last year, “I’ll give Chase DeLauter projections…with a chance of more (and a lot less because he’s never on the field for more than 60 games). (stayed).” And I am. Well, you know.
DeLauter won’t stay on the field or perhaps end up being 25/.275 in the heart of the order. I’m not sure if there is another option. The other wild thing is that the guys who debuted in the playoffs, like DeLauter did, are a shortlist that includes Alex Kirilloff, Shane McClanahan, Adalberto Mondesi and Ryan Weathers. They pretty much all have the same problem. Crazy upside down and can’t play because he’s in pain. Mondesi was simply cursed by my love. For fantasy baseball in 2026, I’m giving Chase DeLauter projections of 43/20/51/.271/1 in 403 ABs with a chance for more (and a lot less because he’s never stayed on the field longer than 60 games – boy, that sounds familiar).
#Chase #DeLauter #Fantasy #Prospects