Amateur career
DeLauter attended Hedgesville High School in Hedgesville, West Virginia, where he played football, basketball, and baseball.[1] In 2018, as a junior, he batted .500 and also pitched to a 1.95 ERA with 64 strikeouts.[2] As a senior in 2019, he went 9-2 with a 0.84 ERA over 66 innings alongside hitting .606 with eight home runs, 52 RBIs, and 21 doubles.[3] He was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of West Virginia.[4][5]
After graduating high school, DeLauter enrolled at James Madison University to play college baseball. As a freshman in 2020, DeLauter earned a starting spot and batted .382 with 26 hits and 14 RBIs over 16 games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] In those 16 starts, he reached base safely in his first 15 games of the season, setting the new JMU school record.[7] He earned Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.[8] He played in the Rockingham County Baseball League for the Broadway Bruins that summer where he batted .527 with 18 home runs and 45 RBIs over thirty games.[9] In 2021, as a redshirt freshman, he slashed .386/.500/.723 with six home runs, 21 RBIs, and a 1.231 OPS over 26 games.[10] He missed two games during the season due to injury.[11] Following the season's end, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was named a league all-star and earned the Robert A. McNeese Outstanding Pro Prospect Award after batting .298 with nine home runs over 34 games.[12][13][14][15][16] DeLauter entered the 2022 season as a top prospect for the upcoming draft.[17][18] In early April, he broke his foot and missed the remainder of the season.[19] Over 24 games before the injury, he batted .437 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs.[20] Following the season's end, he traveled to San Diego where he participated in the Draft Combine.[21]
Professional career
The Cleveland Guardians selected DeLauter in the first round with the 16th overall selection of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[22] He signed with the team for $3.75 million.[23] He did not play for the organization in 2022 due to a broken foot he suffered in the spring.
On January 10, 2023, DeLauter underwent surgery to address a fracture in the fifth toe of his left foot, sidelining him for 4-5 months.[24] He made his professional debut in June with the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Guardians and was later promoted to the High-A Lake County Captains and Double-A Akron RubberDucks.[25] Over 57 games, DeLauter batted .355 with five home runs and 39 RBI.[26] After the season, he was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas.[27]
DeLauter was assigned to Akron to open the 2024 season.[28] DeLauter was promoted to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers on August 19, 2024. He missed time during the season due to a foot fracture, turf toe, and a hamstring injury.[29][30][31] Across 39 appearances split between Columbus, Akron, and a rehab assignment with the ACL Guardians, he batted an aggregate .261/.342/.500 with eight home runs and 24 RBI.
On March 4, 2025, it was announced that DeLauter had undergone surgery to address a core muscle/sports hernia injury, and would miss 8-to-12 weeks as a result.[32] He made 42 appearances for Columbus and the ACL Guardians upon returning, slashing .264/.379/.473 with seven home runs, 24 RBI, and one stolen base. On July 23, it was announced that DeLauter would miss 6-to-8 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a right hamate fracture.[33] He was initially assigned to play in the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros after the season.[34] However, following the 2025 Guardians qualifying for the postseason, DeLauter was instead selected to the major league roster on September 30, for the Guardians' wild card series against the Detroit Tigers.[35] He would make his major league debut the following day, becoming the seventh player to make his major league debut in a postseason game, following Ryan Weathers, Shane McClanahan, Alex Kirilloff, Adalberto Mondesí, Mark Kiger, and Bug Holliday.[36] On October 2, DeLauter recorded his first career hit, a single off of Tigers starter Jack Flaherty.[37]
DeLauter was named to Cleveland's Opening Day roster to open the 2026 season. He made his regular-season MLB debut during Cleveland's season opener on March 26, 2026, where he recorded his first three career regular season hits, going three-for-five with two solo home runs off of Logan Gilbert and Cooper Criswell in a 6-4 Guardians win over the Seattle Mariners.[38]
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