No player in Cleveland baseball history had ever made their MLB Debut in the postseason. Chase DeLauter changed that on Wednesday.
The Guardians announced that Chase DeLauter would start in centerfield and bat seventh against the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series. The Guardians' number two overall prospect and the number 54 prospect in all of Major League Baseball finally makes his debut.
“Chase is ready. You can see on his face, you know, how good of a player he is,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said Wednesday morning.
“Offense has been a struggle for us, and we're looking to generate some more offense. Chase has played a lot of center field. He's been a very good outfielder. He's been a very good hitter. And so we felt like this was the right move to do.“
Before undergoing surgery in July on his right wrist, DeLauter batted .278 with 5 home runs in 126 at-bats in 34 games at AAA Columbus. With his debut today, he becomes the sixth player in Major League Baseball’s modern era to make their debut in the postseason.
The Guardians take on the Tigers in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday at 1:08 p.m. at Progressive Field.
