Chase DeLauter is doing everything right early this season, and in the recent series against the Seattle Mariners he delivered an impressive showing with four home runs. That performance has him sitting above Aaron Judge on the leaderboard after just the opening series of the year.
Judge, who also had a solid start with two home runs in the first three games, currently sits in sixth place on the MLB home run leaderboard, tied with several other players. It’s still early, and he has plenty of time to climb higher as the season progresses.
DeLauter’s hot start goes beyond the long ball. With five RBIs and a .353 batting average, he’s showing that the Cleveland Guardians could be in position to compete this season after taking three of four games from Seattle in the opening series.
Judge not leading any categories
After three games with the New York Yankees, Judge is not leading any major statistical category in 2026. The only areas where he ranks inside the top 10 are home runs and strikeouts, where he has seven, placing him seventh in that category.
Chase “Barry Bonds + Albert Pujols combined”DeLauter is not real
— AT (@BaseballWRLD_) March 29, 2026
He literally just flicked a ball out the opposite way on a pitch that wasn’t even a strike against a Top 5 reliever in the game pic.twitter.com/vd3HPemAJf
It hasn’t been a terrible start for Judge, though. He’s hitting just .154, well below DeLauter’s mark, but expectations remain high. Projections from Baseball Reference still have him finishing around a .302 average with at least 45 home runs this season.
What are the Guardians paying DeLauter?
DeLauter is currently playing under a one-year major league deal worth $3.75 million with Cleveland. It’s his first contract at the MLB level, and if he continues at this pace, he could be in line for a significantly bigger deal next season—though a potential lockout could complicate that timeline.
