CLEVELAND — Chase DeLauter took in his surroundings when he moved from center field to right in the seventh inning on Wednesday. He got a good look at the third deck of seats facing him. He was surrounded by a crowd clad in red, desperate to see its team keep its season alive.
At that point, it really began to sink in: DeLauter (ranked as the Guardians’ No. 2 prospect and No. 54 overall, according to MLB Pipeline) was making his big league debut, and he was doing it in a win-or-go-home postseason game for Cleveland.
“This is not how I imagined this all would go down,” DeLauter said. “I’m extremely grateful for it — extremely grateful for the opportunity, and the guys are amazing here.”
Before DeLauer, only five players had made their MLB debut in the postseason. Ryan Weathers did it mos