Brayan Rocchio Makes Tremendous Strides

The Guardians’ group of young middle infielders, which the organization has focused on stockpiling the last few years, continues to ascend through the system.

One of the most impressive in the group is 20-year-old shortstop Brayan Rocchio, a switch-hitter who signed out of Venezuela in 2017. 

Rocchio is moving rapidly through the system and hit his way from High-A Lake County to Double-A Akron this season. He was one of just three 20-year-old hitters to bat at least 100 times in Double-A Northeast in 2021. The other two were Erie outfielder Riley Green and Akron outfielder George Valera, another top Guardians prospect.

“The thing I would put near the top of the list with Brayan,” Lake County manager Greg DiCenzo said, “is that he still wants to be coached. He wants to get better every day.”

In 108 games at two levels, Rocchio hit .277/.346/.460 with 15 home runs, 26 doubles and 21 stolen bases.

“He’s a fast-twitch guy with a great first step and his situational awareness really improved this year,” DiCenzo said. “He’s become a really mature baseball player because he understands who he is as a player.”

Defensively, Rocchio checks all the boxes.

“My first impression of him was how focused he is on the defensive side,” DiCenzo said. “He has a good first step and he’ll make the exceptional play look routine.”

Rocchio made occasional starts at second base and third base this season, but all indications are that he’ll remain primarily a shortstop.

“He can play shortstop in the big leagues. But he could also play second base, or anywhere up the middle,” DiCenzo said. “He’s athletic enough, gets good reads on balls. And his arm? He’s got a gun. He throws and runs well.”

Rocchio rose to No. 53 on the end-of-season Top 100 Prospects, moving squarely onto Cleveland’s near-term radar.

“He’s made tremendous strides in the last year or year and a half,” DiCenzo said. “His defense is really good, but he also offers a switch-hitter who is a threat from both sides. He’s just a really good baseball player.”

CLEVELAND ROCKS

— The shortstop situation in Cleveland was unsettled heading into the offseason. Amed Rosario, made most of the starts there in 2021, and although he was one of the club’s best offensive players, he was adequate at best defensively. Right behind Rosario are Andres Gimenez, who had an up-and-down season at Triple-A Columbus, and the fast-rising Brayan Rocchio.