It’s no secret that Chase DeLauter has the talent to be a star at the big-league level. He’s currently ranked as the Cleveland Guardians’ No. 2 prospect and a top-100 prospect in all of baseball.
But how does DeLauter’s potential hold up to the rest of the prospects at his position? MLB Pipeline recently released its top-10 outfield prospects heading into the 2026 season, and DeLauter came in at No. 10 on their list.
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He was even named one of the prospects with the best hit tool: “DeLauter also has 60 power to go along with the 60 hit tool.”
When DeLauter has been on the field, he’s looked like he belongs in the conversation for top prospect in baseball. Over his minor league career, the left-handed hitter owns a .302/.384/.504 slash line with an OPS of .888, including 20 home runs and 40 doubles.
Purely based on talent, DeLauter has a case for being even higher on this list, but there is a good reason he isn’t; the sample size from the prospect isn’t very large due to injuries.
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Since being assigned to the affiliate ball in 2023, DeLauter has played in only 138 games due to various injuries. In 2025, he missed because of hernia surgery and hand surgery later in the year.
Cleveland Guardians’ Chase DeLauter watches his hit during Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series on Oct. 1, 2025, in Cleveland. © Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Because of the injury concern, DeLauter earned another title as a part of this ranking, which isn’t as positive. The Guardian’s prospect was also named the outfielder with the “most to prove” out of this group.
“If the 2022 first-round pick had stayed healthy at any point, he likely would have graduated off this list a while agao. He did make his Major League debt in the postseaosn last year, but he’s yet to play more than 60 games in a season. If he can stay on the field, his plus hit and power tools should play well again big league pitching,” wrote analyst Jonathan Mayo.
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It’s hard to argue with anything the analyst points out. DeLauter has the talent to be a star, but still needs to prove he can stay on the field for a full season. Hopefully, 2026 will be the start of a better stretch of health for the 24-year-old.
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