Brayan Rocchio Could Be Best Of Guardians’ Young Shortstops
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In recent seasons, the Guardians have overloaded their minor league system with shortstops.
From Andres Gimenez to Tyler Freeman to Gabriel Arias, Cleveland’s Top 10 Prospects list has been dominated by shortstops.
The best may be yet to come.
Brayan Rocchio checked all the boxes at Triple-A Columbus last season, hitting .280/.367/.421 with seven home runs and 25 stolen bases in 116 games. He drew 60 walks against 66 strikeouts.
The 23-year-old switch-hitter earned four different callups to Cleveland in 2023 but produced a light .600 OPS in 23 games.
“We are very excited about Rocchio’s development,” Guardians assistant GM James Harris said. “He is a hard worker, a great competitor and he cares about his teammates.”
Standing in at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, Rocchio has more power than he showed in 2023. The year before he hit 18 homers between Double-A Akron and Columbus. He has turned out to be a bargain for the Guardians, who signed him out of Venezuela for just $125,000 as part of their 2017 international signing class that also included George Valera.
“He continues to improve offensively and on defense, while challenging himself on the bases,” Harris said.
While he might not be a finished product, Rocchio isn’t far off. It’s not out of the question that he could be the Guardians’ everyday shortstop at some point in 2024.
“There is a large gap between Triple-A and the big leagues, and Rocchio has demonstrated an ability to make good swing decisions from both sides of the plate and put the ball in play,” Harris said.
“He has shown the ability to impact the ball on occasion and continues to work in the weight room and with our hitting coaches to do so more consistently.”
