With the Cleveland Guardians' season falling apart, the Guardians should look to improve the roster in some capacity. Whether it's by way of trade or calling up a top prospect, the Guardians' struggles this season can't be left unaddressed.
Quincy Wheeler of SB Nation's Covering the Corner is urging the Guardians to finally decide on a top prospect. Williams wants the Guardians to call up a top prospect to replace the struggling Lane Thomas.
"The Guardians should promote Chase DeLauter today." Williams wrote. "And let me tell you why: DeLauter is ready. He is on a 33-game on-base streak and just hit a 412-foot home run at 109 mph."
DeLauter is a 23-year-old prospect, and as an outfielder, would take over for Thomas in center field. The 2024 trade deadline pickup has been incredibly disappointing, hitting just .160 on the season through 125 at-bats.
Moving on from Thomas is a no-brainer, and it's only a matter of time before the Guardians make such a decision. His struggles are too much, and with the offense in Cleveland being the worst in baseball over the past month, now's the time to make a move.
MORE: Guardians listening to trade inquiries for All-Star Steven Kwan
Thomas is on the ten-day injured list, and his roster spot should go to DeLauter in Williams' mind. This season, in 144 at-bats in the minors, he has a .854 OPS, seven home runs, 23 RBIs, and a .264 batting average.
While not otherworldly numbers, he's more than proved he's ready for the big leagues. The 35th-ranked prospect in baseball should get the call to the big leagues, according to Williams, especially with a series against the lousy Chicago White Sox on tap.
Williams is not just urging the Guardians to call up DeLauter; he's calling out Chris Antonetti to make the move, and do so right away. "Stop coming up with excuses and gaslighting fans, Chris Antonetti." Williams wrote. "Bring Chase up TONIGHT!!!"
DeLauter is the Guardians ' second-ranked prospect behind Travis Bazzana, and he's close to being as ready as he can be to make his MLB debut.
With the team's major struggles this season and Thomas's lack of production, calling up DeLauter makes a lot of sense. He'd bolster a lackluster offense and provide a spark to a team that's on the cusp of being major sellers at the MLB trade deadline.
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