The Guardians Should Do The Thing

Call up Chase DeLauter, you cowards

The Guardians are floundering and it’s time to cling to one of the few potential arks of salvation within their reach and have Chase DeLauter set sail from Columbus to Cleveland.

First, let’s establish something about DeLauter - since returning from a turf toe incident, he has a 152 wRC+ with an 11.3/8.8 K/BB% and a .310 ISO. Memorably, while hitting with the A-team for the Guardians in Spring Training, he put up a 320 wRC+, following his posting a .914 OPS in the Arizona Fall League last autumn. Not only do these surface numbers look great but he’s also got a swinging strike rate around 6% and pulled-hit/fly-ball numbers of 45.5%/54.5%.

Cases can, of course, be made for promoting Kyle Manzardo or George Valera. Cases can also be made against both players. Since July 1st, Valera has a 126 wRC+, but he also continues to strike out 31% of the time. Valera has an .898 OPS vs. RHP but looks virtually unplayable vs. LHP with a .484 OPS. Manzardo has a 138 wRC+ in Triple-A with an 18.3/17.3 K/BB% a .274 ISO and a 7.7% swinging strike rate, with an .855 OPS vs RHP. Now, both Valera and Manzardo do have some fairly pronounced home/road splits as first pointed out to me by Covering the Corner regular DelGua. Valera is at .939/.648 home/road OPS, and Manzardo has a .964/.739 OPS home/road. Columbus plays in a bandbox, so these numbers may be somewhat concerning to Guardians’ brass. Personally, I’d find a way to get Manzardo on the roster and swap Valera for Brennan right now for the chance of potential hitting upside, specifically vs RHP, but I can see legitimate reason for caution on the part of the Guardians in both cases.

The aggressive play that sends a message to your team that the time is now, with a division title in reach and a playoff berth still likely, is to call up your first or second best prospect in DeLauter and make good on the strange rumors we heard in Spring Training that DeLauter was being considered as an option to make the Opening Day roster. Currently, he has the best chance at making an impact on the big league lineup of any hitter not named Juan Brito (apparently currently blocked by Andres Gimenez being cemented in at second base, which is a topic for a different article). And, DeLauter is a better hitter than Brito - just doesn’t have the amount of Triple-A data proving it as his Clippers’ teammate does.

“But, Quincy, DeLauter is not playing every day in Columbus yet?” Well, neither are any of the Cleveland outfielders not named Steven Kwan because none of them are proving they deserve everyday opportunities. Speaking of Kwan, his prolonged slump is an issue. Is he nursing injury? A 15-day stint to recover while letting DeLauter wet his feet in left-field might be in order. Otherwise, here’s my suggested lineup:

1. Kwan - LF
2. Gimenez - 2B
3. Jose - 3B
4. Fry/Manzardo - DH
5. Naylor - 1B
6. Noel - RF
7. DeLauter - CF
8. Bo - C
9. Rocchio - SS

Bench:
Hedges - C
Thomas - OF
Freeman or Schneemann (or Arias if they insist) - UIF

“But, Quincy, are we sure DeLauter is a centerfielder? He’s played only 33 games there as a professional?” Nope. I’m not sure. But, I’m also very sure that Lane Thomas and Will Brennan are not centerfielders, and that Angel Martinez and Tyler Freeman are, at best, going to be average in center and probably not for a while. So, there’s not much to lose, defensively. Thomas and DeLauter can split centerfield duties in the above arrangement.

When you realize that the odds are in your favor - a 7.5 game lead on the Red Sox for the last wildcard spot, plus the season series tiebreaker - and a clear chance to win the AL Central, it is time to make plays to get you the upside you need to make the best possible run at the playoffs. While we hope for Gavin Williams to stabilize as a starting pitcher and Alex Cobb to make a speedy recovery from a fractured fingernail, the Guardians should use these last thirty games to get major league time for the hitters who can provide the highest offensive ceiling possible. They need look no further than the impact Jhonkensy Noel has had in his short time with the team. Few believe he could make any sort of meaningful impact on the team but now his 156 wRC+ is a reminder that if you make the contact you can make count it can be a lot more valuable than a lot of contact hit weakly.

DeLauter is a potential trump card up the Guardians’ sleeves. I can’t guarantee that his bat is ready, but I can guarantee that there is more upside in that bat than in Will Brennan, Daniel Schneemann and Tyler Freeman’s respective hitting profile. Let’s get the former top pick up here and see what he can do as we try to win a division and improve our chances at doing damage in October. The time is now.