Guardians draft James Madison outfielder Chase DeLauter in first round

The first-ever player announced as a draft pick of the Cleveland Guardians was Chase DeLauter, an outfielder from James Madison University. The Guardians, in their first year with the new name, chose DeLauter with the 16th overall pick of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Sunday night. The draft began Sunday night and will run through Tuesday. "This is probably one of the riskier college bats you can take right here, but you're probably getting a higher ceiling as well," ESPN's Chris Burke said on the broadcast. "This is Cleveland banking on their player development guys." DeLauter, a 20-year old from Frederick, Maryland, batted .437 in the 2022 season for JMU. He slugged eight home runs and drove in 35 runs while compiling an .828 slugging percentage and 1.404 OPS. At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, DeLauter can launch baseballs from the left side of the plate. "One of the things that (DeLauter) did do is he crushed anything middle-in," ESPN's Eduardo Perez said on the broadcast. A relatively unheralded player out of Hedgesville (West Virginia) High School, DeLauter caught the eyes of scouts in the Cape Cod summer league in 2021. Playing for Orleans, he batted .298 with nine home runs against the best competition college summer baseball has to offer. DeLauter was named the 2021 Cape Cod Baseball League's top pro prospect by the league itself. A strong arm should also be something DeLauter brings to the outfield after going to James Madison as a two-way player. DeLauter is the highest-ever drafted player from James Madison. A year ago, Cleveland chose East Carolina University right-handed pitcher Gavin Williams in the first round at No. 23 overall, ending a trend of five consecutive high-school selections in round one. The Williams pick has looked brilliant so far. He has a 1.64 ERA this season across Double-A and High-A with 91 strikeouts in 65.2 innings pitched. Following their first-round selection, Cleveland was set to pick again at No. 37 overall as part of Competitive Balance Round A. Then the Guardians had pick 54 overall as part of the second round. The opening night of the draft took place in Los Angeles as part of All-Star Week. Sunday night's draft proceedings began with the Baltimore Orioles selecting Jackson Holliday from Stillwater (OK) High School as the first overall pick. Holliday is the son of former MLB star Matt Holliday. The son of Andruw Jones, centerfielder Druw Jones of Wesleyan (GA) HS, went second overall to the Diamondbacks. Right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker, who was taken in the first round by the Mets a year ago but didn't sign due to his medicals, was taken third overall by the Rangers. --- 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft Top-10 Picks 1. Baltimore Orioles - Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater (OK) HS 2. Arizona Diamondbacks - Druw Jones, CF, Wesleyan (GA) HS 3. Texas Rangers - Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt 4. Pittsburgh Pirates - Termarr Johnson, SS, Mays (GA) HS 5. Washington Nationals - Elijah Green, CF, IMG Academy (FL) 6. Miami Marlins - Jacob Berry, 3B, LSU 7. Chicago Cubs - Cade Horton, RHP, Oklahoma 8. Minnesota Twins - Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly 9. Kansas City Royals - Gavin Cross, RF, Virginia Tech 10. Colorado Rockies - Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga --- Cleveland's recent MLB first-round picks 2022 - Chase DeLauter, OF 2021 - Gavin Williams, RHP 2020 - Carson Tucker, SS 2019 - Daniel Espino, RHP 2018 - Bo Naylor, C 2017 - none 2016 - Will Benson, OF 2015 - Brady Aiken, LHP; Triston McKenzie, RHP 2014 - Bradley Zimmer, OF; Justus Sheffield, LHP; Mike Papi, OF 2013 - Clint Frazier, OF 2012 - Tyler Naquin, OF 2011 - Francisco Lindor, SS