00:00Chase the Lauder.
00:02Look, I kind of thought, Nick, he would be in the rookie of the year conversation
00:09for the American League.
00:12I think he's got more home runs in three games than half the team had last year.
00:17Dude, it's phenomenal.
00:18And that was my big thing to watch for the guards coming into this season.
00:23They really didn't do much of anything in the offseason,
00:27as is pretty standard for them.
00:29But this year, it felt like the intention behind it was
00:32because the learning from last season was that once the young kids got up
00:37and some of the older guys like the Carlos Santanas got out of the way,
00:41well, that's when the winning started.
00:42That's when they were able to erase that 15-and-a-half-game deficit
00:45in the American League Central Division.
00:47So seeing what Chase the Lauder is doing to start this regular season, Daryl,
00:52is nothing short of remarkable.
00:54And I was really thinking this morning,
00:56this is either one of two things now at this point.
01:00I think at this point, even though it's just a three-game sample size,
01:05he's either off to an incredible Linsanity run to start his regular season
01:10and start his true rookie campaign with the guards,
01:14or we've really found something here.
01:16We've really found one of these next alien kid outfielders that can rake,
01:22and that's what we've been searching for for years and years
01:25is somebody to stand out there with a little bit of pop in their bat.
01:28I think it's been, what, over a decade since the Guardians outfielders hit 20 home runs?
01:33It looks like Chase the Lauder is well on his way.
01:36Well, he only needs 16 more the rest of the way to be able to do that.
01:40But, yeah, they needed to find some power somewhere within this lineup.
01:47I had said that going into this season and felt that way.
01:51And if they could, I certainly like their chances.
01:54I picked them to win 88 games.
01:56And you know how that goes.
01:58Anytime you make a prediction, you're either a hater or a shill.
02:03And I got accused of both.
02:05Oh, I got accused.
02:06So I picked 90 wins, which was high,
02:08because I saw everybody was toying around there in the 80s.
02:11I picked 90 wins and Chase the Lauder, offensive rookie of the year,
02:16or MLBAL rookie of the year.
02:18I was getting the opposite end of that spectrum.
02:21You are a homer.
02:23You're just, you know, showing out for the Guardians.
02:25Why can't you give the Cavs and the Browns this kind of love?
02:28I was getting all kinds of craziness.
02:30And I was, look, they always do find a way to wind up in those mid-80s to 90 win
02:36mark.
02:37And then I knew that, like, if this guy can be up in the big club
02:41and rake like he did in AAA Columbus when he was healthy last season,
02:45we were really going to have something.
02:47Now, obviously, the health, he's got to stay healthy.
02:49It's the elephant in the room with him.
02:51But this three-game start against the Seattle Mariners,
02:55who are a game away from the World Series, by the way,
02:57it's been nothing short of tremendous.
03:00Yeah, and look, I'm fairly confident the pitching is going to be there,
03:05the rotation in the bullpen.
03:07I'm not too concerned about that.
03:10It's kind of like the Browns.
03:12Not really concerned about the defense.
03:13It's the offense that's the problem.
03:15Can they score?
03:18And, you know, when, I mean, I know Stephen Kwan's off to a pretty slow start.
03:24He had a couple of hits last night.
03:27He's going to be fine.
03:28I'm not worried about that.
03:30You know, maybe there is a conversation to be had a month or two from now
03:35if he's struggling to play it as to whether or not he's distracted
03:39by his contract situation, his long-term future.
03:43You know, obviously, you get a little frustrated
03:46because this is just the way the Guardians have to do business.
03:49Guys are only here for a certain amount of time,
03:51and then when they reach their market value,
03:54the Guardians aren't able to keep guys around.
03:57Jose Ramirez is the exception to the rule.
03:58I mean, this guy has taken what I would probably say is a 65% to 70% discount
04:06to stay with the Guardians at $25 million a year.
04:10God bless Jose Ramirez.
04:11He has taken the stance that, hey, what's another $25 million a year going to do for me
04:17that the existing $25 million a year is not.
04:22He's very loyal, which is something that is very rare in pro sports today,
04:27which is, look, quite honestly, it's very transient these days thanks to free agency.
04:34And, look, I don't mean that as a criticism.
04:36I recognize that things are a little different than when I was growing up.
04:40And, look, when I was growing up, that's when really the free agency thing
04:44really started to kick in and the trades.
04:47And I remember the Jack McDowell trade conversations that were had on sports radio
04:53back in the day or the Pedro Martinez trade discussion.
04:57Should the then Indians trade Jarrett Wright for Pedro?
05:00We all know, looking hindsight 2020, what the answer to that question is.
05:05But, you know, what DeLauter is doing and what he has done here in his first three games,
05:11four home runs, debuted with two of them on opening night, not opening day,
05:16opening night, because I was sleeping through.
05:18I passed my bedtime, like, I...
05:22Even last night?
05:22Even on a Saturday?
05:23Yeah, yeah.
05:24So, it was nice for me, because I stay up some Saturdays to watch the fights.
05:28And last night, Israel Adesanya was fighting.
05:31Dude, it's crazy how in that sport, Daryl, like, you know the old saying,
05:35like, father time's undefeated.
05:36And it kind of plays into this baseball.
05:37And listen, I'm starting to feel father time, okay?
05:40That's why it's passed my bedtime.
05:42Dude, in that sport, when father time gets you, it gets you all at once.
05:47This dude, Adesanya, he was, like, one of the best that there was.
05:53And he hasn't won a fight since 2023, and it's looked pretty bad.
05:56So, staying up, watching that, watching the guards at the same time.
05:59And I just can't believe my...
06:00You know, he gets up late.
06:02It was late.
06:02It was about almost one in the morning when he gets the insurance run, home run.
06:07And it's so effortless.
06:09The swing is effortless.
06:10He pokes it to opposite field with such power.
06:13It's like, this guy can really be the goods.
06:16You mentioned some of the trade stuff and the, you know, contract stuff with Kwon.
06:22I do have to ask you, especially because you've mentioned, you know, the Pedro Bartida stuff.
06:27Like, we've understood how this baseball organization has done business for quite some time.
06:33Through three games, has the thought gone through your head about DeLauter?
06:37It's gone through mine.
06:38No!
06:39It's gone through mine.
06:40It's like, could this be a guy that, like, we grow to love so quickly, but we know he's not
06:46going to be around forever?
06:48No.
06:48Now, see, that's what frustrates me.
06:51I understand where you're coming from, but can we just enjoy the moment?
06:56Oh, I'm enjoying it.
06:57Can we, instead of looking to the doom and gloom that's going to come in the future?
07:03All I ask is, has the thought crossed through your head?
07:07No.
07:07His, I mean, I saw a couple of posts on social media last night.
07:12Chase DeLauter, 10-year contract, do it now.
07:14Chase DeLauter, 15-year contract, do it now.
07:16Like, I saw the post.
07:18Because I've seen the Bryce Harper comps that's out there.
07:20I've also seen the Lonnie Chisholm comps that are out there.
07:22But the Bryce, like, if he's Bryce Harper, seriously, we said at the beginning of the show, you know, there's
07:28two paths.
07:29He's either on this Linsanity start to the season, and he will, you know, average out at some point,
07:34or we've really found the next big prospect in baseball, especially the next best power-hitting outfield prospect in baseball.
07:43If he's Bryce Harper, the thought has crossed my mind already that this is a guy that I'm going to
07:49enjoy for four or five years.
07:51The word is, enjoy him.
07:53Is it not?
07:54Remember that?
07:55Well, yeah.
07:55I mean, I'm trying to, like, as I get older, I'm trying to enjoy the present more than worry, like,
08:05about the future.
08:07Um, and also not lament whatever happened in the past.
08:14You can't fit.
08:16What's not is.
08:16So you're saying don't live in my Francisco Lindor fears?
08:20Yeah.
08:20Because the last prospect that came up through the farm system that was heralded and then exploded onto the scene
08:27from the time that he debuted with the then Indians,
08:29I feel like the city kind of fell in love with Francisco Lindor head over heels right away.
08:36Then he wanted his, uh...
08:37And then he wanted a half a billion dollars, and it was like, well, we can't give you that.
08:41And he settled for $300 million from the New York Mets.
08:44So if this dude seriously is on a Bryce Harper trajectory, I'm just trying to prepare my own heart.
08:50I'm trying to prepare my own heartbreak, even though it could be years down the road.
08:55Down the road, I really think the big benefactor from this is going to be Jose Ramirez.
09:02Well, we...
09:03Because finally, he's got a little bit of protection in this lineup.
09:06So you hope that DeLauter, if he could stay on this trajectory, Ramirez, Stephen Kwan, if we could keep him
09:12around for one more year,
09:13maybe this is the year, Daryl, that you could break through when you get talked to him.
09:17Well, right now, he's not to protection because he's hitting in front of Jose in the two-hole.
09:21But your point is understood.
09:24Look, the Guardians did this with Andres Jimenez, okay?
09:28Had the hot start to his career with the bat and the glove.
09:31Then the bat started to trail off a little bit.
09:33But, you know, they rewarded him with a pretty sizable contract.
09:38They committed to him.
09:39It felt like they had their next Carlos Baerga, Robbie Alomar type of player there.
09:46And it just, again, the bat trailed off and they looked at the projections like, hey, you know, we can't
09:52commit $20 million a year to a guy that's going to struggle to hit 220 with no power, even though
09:59he's a vacuum cleaner at second base.
10:01You can do that, I think, at shortstop, right?
10:05You know, we saw that with Omar Vizquel.
10:08But even with Omar Vizquel back in the 90s, you know, he could pop the ball out of the ballpark
10:14on occasion.
10:15He could hit, you know, for a 260, 270 average with consistency.
10:20He could get on base and draw walks and steal bases and do those little things that help you win
10:28games, right?
10:29And be a menace on the base pass, right?
10:31So, like, they've been down that road before recently.
10:36To try to get out in front of it.
10:37And look, again, not trying to pour a cold bucket of water on what Chase Delatter's done because this is
10:44a lot of fun.
10:46Okay?
10:46And, frankly, kind of what I expected from him, maybe not this quick, but I expected that he was going
10:52to be the left-handed power hitting outfitter.
10:55I had some fun with Ken Carman this morning on X because, you know, fans have been kind of going
11:01at him over trying to compare this kid.
11:04So, I was trying to think of, like, every left-handed hitting power outfielder, like, Hall of Famer, you know,
11:17that I could think of to compare this kid to, right?
11:21And it's way too early to be doing the comparison thing, but why the heck not?
11:25I started with Ken Griffey Jr. because he's doing this against the Seattle Mariners.
11:29So, hugs and kisses to all my friends and family out in Seattle.
11:34Stan Musial, Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, the King of Roids, Barry Bonds, allegedly, and, you know, Mel Lott.
11:46Like, I just was just thinking about, you know, Hall of Fame, power hitting, left-handed, outfielder.
11:51You want Mighty Galfield?
11:52Yeah, go ahead.
11:52My prediction for Chase Delatter, career projection, by the way.
11:56All right.
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