Chase DeLauter's swing has a certain je ne sais quoi.
You might think it looks beautiful. You might think it looks choppy.
You might think it looks like Chase Utley's because of its short, slashing movement. Or you might think the only resemblance between DeLauter and Utley is that they're both named "Chase."
Whatever you think about DeLauter's swing, here is what is undeniably true: With that swing, this kid can rake.
"It's Chase's swing. It's my swing," DeLauter said this week. "That's it. No one else's."
DeLauter is off to a terrific start to his rookie season. MLB Pipeline's No. 43 overall prospect has a 1.008 OPS and is tied for the MLB lead with five home runs through his first dozen regular-season games for the Guardians.
The 24-year-old is doing pretty much everything you're supposed to do as a hitter. DeLauter is squaring the ball up at a terrific rate. He is hitting it hard. He is hitting it in the air. He is not chasing many balls, or swinging and missing particularly often.
But we keep coming back to that swing, which is proving to be extremely adaptable. DeLauter is staying on time remarkably well. He's handling a variety of pitches from a variety of nasty pitchers, and not just spraying base hits against them, but driving the ball over the fence.
Look at DeLauter's five home runs. His swing is short enough to stay on a 97 mph fastball up-and-away from Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz and power it out to the opposite field. But his hands are also quick enough to turn on a 97 mph fastball from the Cubs' Hunter Harvey and pull it out of the ballpark. He can drop the barrel on breaking balls from ace-caliber pitchers like Seattle's Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. And when he gets a meatball, like he did when Cooper Criswell hung him a cutter over the middle of the plate, he can tee off to the tune of a 111.1 mph exit velocity.
The adaptability of DeLauter's swing is what makes it good. But it's the movements within that swing that make it unique.
And the most notable element of DeLauter's swing is his back foot.
DeLauter has the strongest back foot movement during his swing of any hitter in the Major Leagues. His back foot kicks out dramatically behind his body, especially when he really gets ahold of a pitch.
"I couldn't tell you [where that comes from], to be honest," DeLauter said. "I've always swung the same way -- never had a hitting coach. It's just, my body does what it does."
We can use Statcast's batting stance data to track exactly how DeLauter moves from the start of his swing to the finish. Watch this visualization. His back foot ends up more than a foot away from where it starts.
DeLauter's back-foot movement from his starting stance to the point of contact isn't just the biggest of any hitter this season. It's the biggest of any hitter since Statcast introduced bat tracking in 2023.
There's some Mike Trout in there, and some Bryce Harper -- both of those superstar hitters are famous for their back-foot movements, too. And one of the things DeLauter said last October when he was called up for the Guardians' playoff run was that Trout was his guy growing up.
"[It was] how [freaking] good he was when I was watching," DeLauter said. "He was the best player on the field. Anyone like that, I feel like you want to try to be like when you're a kid."
Trout has a similar flourish during his swing -- his back foot also crosses back over behind his body. Harper's back foot, meanwhile, drags forward as he generates his power.
DeLauter does both, and his back-foot move is even bigger than Trout and Harper's, plus other big-name hitters with significant back-foot movements like Corbin Carroll, Junior Caminero and Jarren Duran.
Notable hitters with big back-foot movements during their swing
- Chase DeLauter: 14 inches (most in MLB)
- Corbin Carroll: 10 inches
- Junior Caminero: 10 inches
- Jarren Duran: 10 inches
- Mike Trout: 9 inches
- Bryce Harper: 8 inches
"I used to watch YouTube videos growing up and stuff like that of those guys," DeLauter said, referring to Trout and Harper. "But [my swing] just kind of is what it is."
DeLauter's back-foot movement isn't why he's such a great hitter and an early Rookie of the Year candidate -- but his swing wouldn't be his swing without it. And it's a great swing.
MLB.com's Tim Stebbins contributed reporting to this story.