Cleveland Guardians rookie right fielder Chase DeLauter had an interesting start to his MLB career. The 24-year-old made his big-league debut during last year's postseason, playing on baseball's biggest stage before ever appearing in a regular season game and becoming just the sixth player in league history to do so.
Now in his first full season, he has proven why Cleveland put so much faith in him. DeLauter had an exceptional opening month, posting a .257 batting average, .345 on-base percentage, .830 OPS, five home runs and 18 RBIs.
Since then, big-league pitching has adjusted to him and he has struggled mightily in June. Still, the future is bright for the former first-round pick.
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Unfortunately, DeLauter's month of June may be getting worse. During Saturday's game against the Detroit Tigers, he suffered an injury while colliding into the wall in the top of the first inning while trying to catch a ball off the bat of Gleyber Torres.
DeLauter remained in the game initially, even collecting a base hit in the bottom half of the first. However, after the single he was seen grabbing at his right side in discomfort, prompting a visit from manager Stephen Vogt, who removed him from the game.
Daniel Schneemann entered in his place. Shortly after, the Guardians announced an update on his condition. "DeLauter exited with a right ribcage bruise after crashing into the wall," reported Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.
DeLauter is no stranger to injury setbacks and carries a lengthy injury history. During his time in the minor leagues, he missed plenty of time recovering from left foot fractures and sprains, and also dealt with a sports hernia and a hamate bone fracture.
He appeared in just 138 games across his first three minor-league seasons. The hope is that this latest setback is not a serious one, because despite his recent struggles, DeLauter remains an important piece of the offense now and moving forward.
