{"id":671553,"date":"2026-04-09T10:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/671553\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T10:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:36:59","slug":"guardians-star-rookie-chase-delauter-has-an-unusual-swing-heres-why-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/671553\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardians star rookie Chase DeLauter has an unusual swing. Here\u2019s why it works"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND \u2014 Every day, there\u2019s a new Chase DeLauter highlight. A fastball yanked over the right-field fence at Progressive Field. A pitch launched the other way off the 19-foot wall in left. A crowd full of fans, bundled in parkas and winter beanies, shouting the lyrics to his walk-up song, John Denver\u2019s \u201cTake Me Home, Country Roads<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And every day, questions surface about the mechanics behind it all. How can such a distinct swing inflict so much damage?<\/p>\n

Is he scooping the baseball? Is he flicking it? What\u2019s the proper terminology to describe his motion? Is he even completing a full swing? Is he comfortable while doing it? That can\u2019t possibly feel natural, right?<\/p>\n

Since the Cleveland Guardians drafted DeLauter in the first round in 2022, DeLauter has heard the questions, the gripes and every critique that his swing won\u2019t work. He hopes his production will silence the critics, if it hasn\u2019t already.<\/p>\n

\u201cForget them,\u201d he nonchalantly said about his detractors. And, no, he didn\u2019t use the word \u201cforget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, he might wield one of the more aesthetically unusual swings in baseball. It is also one of the mightiest swings in the league so far this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy swing has been the same my whole life,\u201d DeLauter told The Athletic. \u201cEven if I wanted to change it, I couldn\u2019t do it. All the people who say it\u2019s not a good swing don\u2019t play or probably haven\u2019t played at the professional level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Chase DeLauter rode his unorthodox swing to AL Player of the Week honors for the season\u2019s opening week. (Maddy Grassy \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

OK, so what makes the swing so productive?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing with hitting, a lot of people don\u2019t realize, is everything you do is to make the bat move fast and accurately,\u201d Guardians hitting coach Grant Fink said. \u201cIf the bat is moving fast and accurately, who cares what you\u2019re doing? You\u2019re doing something. Nobody\u2019s swing looks the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one knows the nuts and bolts of DeLauter\u2019s setup better than Fink, who\u2019s studied the swing since the Guardians were surveying their draft options four years ago. At the time, he was the organization\u2019s hitting coordinator. Now, he has a front-row seat to DeLauter\u2019s daily fireworks.<\/p>\n

There are two elements to DeLauter\u2019s swing, Fink said, that make something that looks so unorthodox work so proficiently. The first is his acceleration. Bat speed is pivotal, and DeLauter\u2019s ranks in the 54th percentile, but it\u2019s how quickly DeLauter accesses his peak bat speed that makes him such a threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a 0-to-60 versus a top-end speed,\u201d Fink explained. \u201cHis bat speed is above-average, but it\u2019s not outrageous. But his ability to get to his top-end speeds faster and earlier is what leads to a lot of the hard-hit balls. On something inside, where a lot of guys might be beat or have to manipulate, he\u2019s able to continue through the swing.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeLauter\u2019s metrics include healthy rankings in hard-hit rate, barrel rate and average exit velocity, as well as a slew of expected stats that match the eye test.<\/p>\n

The elite acceleration grants DeLauter more time to make a decision. In the split-second after a pitcher releases the ball, DeLauter attempts to recognize the type of pitch spinning his way, its location and movement profile. Then, he must determine if he can inflict damage on it.<\/p>\n

Every nanosecond counts, and since he can generate his best bat speed in such a short period, he has more time to cycle through that process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quicker you can get up to (top bat) speed, the more you can let the ball travel,\u201d Fink said. \u201cThe more you can let the ball travel, the better your decision-making typically is.\u201d<\/p>\n

For as much as DeLauter has flaunted his power early on, with a league-high five home runs, his plate discipline has always been at the root of his production. He has even joked with Fink in recent days that he \u201cisn\u2019t even a home run hitter,\u201d despite his stat line.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not, naturally,\u201d Fink said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t hit the ball super high. He\u2019s more of a gap-to-gap hitter, but pitchers throw homers, and when you get pitches on the inner third that you have to turn on, he\u2019s going to run into those.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chase DeLauter keeps crushing \ud83d\ude24<\/p>\n

He LAUNCHES his 5th homer of the season! pic.twitter.com\/wsi0WCJRu9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB (@MLB) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what happened during the Guardians\u2019 home opener last Friday against the Chicago Cubs. Hunter Harvey fired a waist-high 3-1 fastball on the inside part of the plate. DeLauter pulled in his hands, twisted his torso and shot it into the right-field seats. The swing looked effortless.<\/p>\n

As soon as he made contact, DeLauter dropped the bat at his feet and admired the ball\u2019s flight path.<\/p>\n

DeLauter explained that the pitch was too far inside for him to extend his arms for what would look like a more traditional, full swing. But he flexed enough muscle and created enough bat speed in time to power the 97 mph heater into the stands.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting my hands crazy extended through the ball has never really been one of my biggest focus points,\u201d DeLauter said. \u201cIt\u2019s been more whatever I need to do to get the barrel to the ball. So when I swing like this (hands in), it\u2019s usually because I\u2019m late and I have to somehow get the barrel there. If I try to fully extend, there\u2019s no way I\u2019m gonna get to the ball on time. So those ones are more typically fastballs in, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh crap, I\u2019m a little beat,\u2019 and I try to turn and get the bat there as fast as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second element of the swing that stands out is how it almost appears as if DeLauter stops halfway through.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all a balancing mechanism for being able to produce elite levels of force and speed in a really quick, tight window,\u201d Fink said.<\/p>\n

Fink compared DeLauter to a car that plunges into a brick wall. Others hit the brakes more gradually and slow to a halt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to produce that much speed early, you have to have the ability to stop,\u201d Fink said. \u201cOtherwise, you\u2019d just spin. So his ability to stop the bat, with his strength, it makes it look like he\u2019s just kind of flicking the ball. But really, if you slow it down and look through it, he\u2019s taking a full swing.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHASE DELAUTER DID IT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com\/JSdl4iixV9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no better example of how DeLauter has mystified teammates, coaches and Cleveland fans than his opposite-field homer in Seattle on March 28.<\/p>\n

If you pause the video of Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz uncorking a 97 mph fastball high and outside just as the ball is arriving at the plate, DeLauter is finally starting his swing. Yet, he still had time to trigger enough acceleration and strength to drive the pitch over the left-field wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can hit the ball the other way,\u201d Fink said. \u201cHe can hit the ball high to the pull side. He can let a ball travel really far and shoot a ground ball through that way. He\u2019ll walk. He will be patient at times. It\u2019ll be exciting to see what he ends up turning into, but he has the ingredients to have the whole package.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Guardians \u2014 and DeLauter \u2014 don\u2019t care what it looks like, either. They\u2019re just thrilled it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are going to be swings that look more normal on certain pitches,\u201d DeLauter said, \u201cmaybe hanging breaking balls that are out over the plate and I can get a little more extended on, stuff like that. But typically, it\u2019s just whatever my body does. As long as these guys (hitting coaches) are saying whatever I\u2019m doing is right, then we\u2019ll just roll with it.\u201d<\/p>\n