James Madison outfielder Chase DeLauter will miss at least the next three weeks after suffering a broken foot, according to Carlos Collazo of Baseball America. Collazo notes that there’s a chance DeLauter misses the rest of the spring. The Dukes are slated to wrap up their regular season on May 21, or in about five-and-a-half weeks’ time.
DeLauter entered the spring ranked by CBS Sports as the No. 2 prospect in the 2022 MLB Draft class. Here’s what we wrote at the time:
DeLauter is (and will likely continue to be) the trendy dark horse pick to go No. 1 this summer. In two seasons with the Dukes, he’s pummeled Colonial Athletic Association pitching to the tune of a .385/.488/.657 batting line, 29 extra-base hits, 14 stolen bases, and 10 more walks than strikeouts. DeLauter eased concerns about his excellence being the product of substandard competition last summer by tormenting the Cape Cod League. He launched nine home runs and tallied three more walks than strikeouts while hitting .298/.397/.589 in 34 contests. DeLauter has a loose barrel and he hasn’t been impacted by his tendency to bar his arm; instead, he’s hit everything thrown his way, and he’s done it while displaying power to all fields. Did we mention that he can run and throw; that he might hang in center to begin his career; and that he won’t turn 21 until October? Factor in how he’s not likely to be challenged this season, and there’s a compelling case to be made that he could indeed be the first or second player off the board.
DeLauter opened the year in miserable fashion, suffering through a poor series against the Florida State Seminoles. He had since rebounded in a major way, improving his seasonal line to .437/.576/.828 with eight home runs, nine doubles-plus-triples, and seven more walks (28) than strikeouts (21) in 118 plate appearances.
DeLauter should still come off the board early when the 2022 MLB Draft gets underway on Sunday, July 17.