Chase DeLauter is our No. 10 Guardians prospect. Who should be No. 11?

Jan 23, 2023 - 3:00 PM

The top half of our prospect list rounds out with a close race between Cody Morris (20% of the vote), Gabriel Arias (21%), and eventually winner Chase DeLauter (24%).

DeLauter was the Guardians’ first pick in the 2022 MLB Draft (16th overall), so we haven’t gotten much of a look at him in professional baseball yet. Still, his excellent college career at James Madison University was enough to land him in the first round and in the top 10 of most Guardians prospect lists.

MLB Pipeline has him seventh in their latest rankings, and FanGraphs had him at ninth in their list released last week. At only 21 years old and without a professional at-bat yet, he’s still a ways away. But when he does arrive, there’s a chance he could provide some middle-of-the-order power to whatever the late-20’s Guardians will look like.

One of the most notable things about Chase DeLauter — besides having an 80-grade baseball name — is his unique swing mechanics.

It’ll be interesting to see if Guardians coaches opt to mess with it all because he sure did make it work in college. He finished his JMU career with an absurd .402/.520/.715 slash and 15 home runs in 323 plate appearances.

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Gabriel Arias, SS (Age 22)
2022 (AAA): 323 PA, .240/.310/.406, 13 HR, 5 SB, 7.7 BB%, 24.1 K%, 89 wRC+
2022 (MLB): 57 PA, .191/.321/.319, 1 HR, 1 SB, 14.0 BB%, 28.1 K%, 90 wRC+

After struggling in his first two promotions, Arias seemed to settle in his third time being called to the big leagues in 2022, posting a 158 wRC+ from September on.

Juan Brito, 2B (Age 22)
2022 (A): 497 PA, .286/.407/.470, 11 HR, 17 SB, 15.7 BB%, 14.3 K%, 129 wRC+

Acquired from the Rockies in November. Would not be surprised to see the Guardians bump him straight to Double-A to see how he fares with his advanced hitting tool.

Joey Cantillo, LHP (Age 23)
2022 (AA): 60.2 IP, 13 GS, 35.5 K%, 11.4 BB%, 1.93 ERA, 2.51 FIP

Didn’t pitch a full season at Double-A, but looked dominant when he did. When healthy, Cantillo has all the makings of a solid member of a starting rotation.

Justin Campbell, RHP (Age 21)
37th overall pick in 2022 MLB Draft

Two-way player in college who can touch the mid- to upper-90s on the mound.

Jaison Chourio, OF (Age 17)
2022 (DSL): 175 PA, .280/.446/.402, 1 HR, 14 SB, 22.9 BB%, 12.6 K%, 140 wRC+

The younger brother of consensus top 10 prospect in all of MLB Jackson Chourio, Jaison had a solid pro debut in the 2022 Dominican Summer League (higher wRC+ than Jackson in 2021) and the hype is building.

Xzavion Curry, RHP (Age 24)
2022 (AA): 69.0 IP, 11 GS, 28.4 K%, 6.7 BB%, 3.65 ERA, 3.75 FIP
2022 (AAA): 53.0 IP, 10 GS, 23.5 K%, 10.0 BB%, 4.58 ERA, 4.98 FIP
2022 (MLB): 9.1 IP, 2 GS, 6.4 K%, 12.8 BB%, 5.79 ERA, 6.11 FIP

Another Cleveland pitching factory success story. Curry exploded through the system in 2021, then advanced three more levels in 2022 to make two spot starts at the MLB level.

Welbyn Francisca, SS (Age 16)
2023 international free agent signing

One of the most highly regarded hitting prospects in the 2023 IFA class; a twitchy, athletic fielder at shortstop.

Petey Halpin, OF (Age 20)
2022 (A+): 434 PA, .262/.346/.385, 6 HR, 16 SB, 10.4 BB%, 21.2 K%, 107 wRC+

Despite being young for his level, posted his second straight season with an above-average wRC+ in full-season ball.

Parker Messick, LHP (Age 22)
54th overall pick in 2022 MLB Draft

Heavy strike-thrower with the potential for four quality pitches.

Cody Morris, RHP (Age 26)
2022 (AAA): 15.1 IP, 3 GS, 51.7 K%, 10.3 BB%, 2.35 ERA, 2.46 FIP
2022 (MLB): 23.2 IP, 5 GS, 23.0 K%, 12.0 BB%, 2.28 ERA, 4.34 FIP

An early shoulder injury likely prevented him from earning a permanent spot in Cleveland’s starting rotation in 2022. Morris impressed in limited appearances at the MLB level.

Jhonkensy Noel, 1B/3B/OF (Age 21)
2022 (A+): 252 PA, .219/.286/.509, 19 HR, 1 SB, 7.1 BB%, 31.7 K%, 111 wRC+
2022 (AA): 278 PA, .242/.338/.488, 13 HR, 2 SB, 10.8 BB%, 22.7 K%, 122 wRC+
2022 (AAA): 18 PA, .176/.222/.235, 0 HR, 0 SB, 5.6 BB%, 38.9 K%, 20 wRC+

The most powerful prospect in Cleveland’s system, Noel blasted 33 home runs in 2022 and actually improved after being promoted to Double-A.