Guardians notes: Top prospect Chase DeLauter has surgery on right wrist

CLEVELAND — Fans hoping to see top prospect Chase DeLauter on the major league level soon will have to wait longer, possibly until next season. The Guardians announced Wednesday that the oft-injured outfielder underwent surgery for a hamate bone fracture in his right hand/wrist earlier in the day. The typical recovery period from hamate fracture excision surgery is 6-8 weeks. "Feel for him, obviously," manager Stephen Vogt said of Cleveland's first-round draft pick (16th overall) in 2022. "It's been a couple years now with just injuries, but we all continue to believe Chase is going to be an impact player for us. Obviously, that's going to be put on pause for a little bit." DeLauter visited hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham for a second opinion Wednesday, undergoing an examination and MRI before Graham recommended and performed surgery. He tried playing through the injury and the Guardians chose not to have him undergo an MRI, but batted only .194 (6-for-31) in eight games this month, last playing July 11. DeLauter, 23, has dealt with injuries in each of his first three professional seasons. He missed the beginning of his debut year in 2023 after left foot surgery, and was limited to 39 games last season, spending three different stints on the injured list. l Vogt said he spoke to Shane Bieber on Wednesday and that the right-hander "feels great," following his first rehab start outside of Arizona at Class A Lake County on Tuesday night. "Everything went well," Vogt said of Bieber's three-inning outing. "We'll just kind of see how it goes day to day, playing catch and how he feels. But all signs point to a really successful outing (Tuesday) night and he's feeling good." The next step for Bieber is another rehab outing for an Ohio-based minor league affiliate next week — likely four innings (around 60 pitches). MY GUYS Discussions between Vogt and the front office will take place more often as the July 31 trade deadline approaches, but the manager thinks his current roster is good enough to contend for a postseason berth. "We talk every day, but for me, my job is to manage the team that we have here and I continue to believe that this is the group of guys that's going to take us where we need to get," Vogt said. "Obviously, (the front office members have) been doing a lot more trade deadlines than I have, so I have full trust in whatever it is that they're going to accomplish." MAKING THEIR MARK Angel Martinez and Brayan Rocchio started slowly this season, but each has found their groove. Martinez was batting .345 (19-for-55) with 13 extra-base hits (nine doubles, four home runs) over his last 13 games through Tuesday. Rocchio had driven in a run in three straight games and four of his last five games through Tuesday, posting a .288 average with seven doubles and 11 RBIs since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus on July 1 — after batting .165 over his first 35 games prior to the demotion. "Being a consistent, successful big leaguer is all about your confidence," Vogt said. "Everyone can play here. Everyone has the skill set to be a major league baseball player. It's about finding that confidence, sticking with it. "And I think for Angel and Rocchio right now, they're both playing with a ton of confidence and you see it. You see it in their body language. When you're confident, you swing at the right pitches. When you're confident, you don't let one at-bat dictate the rest of your day. That's believing in yourself, and both those guys are going strong." ROUNDIN' THIRD The Guardians entered Wednesday at .500 for the first time since June 27, owning an AL-best 10-2 record over their last 12 games. They won four of their first five games out of the All-Star break for the first time since 2010. … Jose Ramirez is the first Cleveland player to steal 30 bases within the first 100 games since Kenny Lofton (1998). Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.