Brayan Rocchio has spent most of the first half doing something that doesn’t always grab headlines, even when it should: piling up value in plain sight. While Travis Bazzana and Parker Messick have pulled plenty of attention as AL Rookie of the Year contenders, Rocchio’s breakout at shortstop has mostly stayed in the background outside Cleveland.
Fox Sports’ Rowan Kavner made sure that changed in his league-wide power rankings column, calling Rocchio the Guardians’ most overlooked contributor.
“Considering Travis Bazzana and Parker Messick are among the top AL Rookie of the Year contenders, they probably can’t be considered here. So let’s give a hat tip to Brayan Rocchio, who is enjoying a career year at shortstop and has been one of the most valuable position players on the team,” Kavner wrote.
The numbers back up the praise. Coming into the season, multiple projection systems had Rocchio around a .236 average with an OPS plus near 83 - the kind of profile that would have put him in the below-average offensive lane and left his glove carrying the load.
Instead, the 25-year-old switch-hitter has turned in a much stronger first half, hitting .270 with a .727 OPS. As recently as mid June, his wRC+ ranked second among qualified American League shortstops.
He has also stayed among the league’s best at the position in two key plate-discipline areas, with one of the lowest strikeout rates and one of the highest walk rates.
Rocchio has brought the same level of impact on defense. He sits in the 80th percentile in outs above average and has stacked up highlight-reel plays all season, including a spinning off balance throw against the Yankees that drew praise from around the league.
Manager Stephen Vogt has pointed to Rocchio’s mental growth as a big reason for the leap, saying the shortstop has handled positional changes, minor league assignments and shifting roles without letting any of it knock him off track.
With the Guardians’ rookie class drawing so much of the spotlight, Rocchio has become the steady piece underneath it all. His importance only rises as Cleveland works through its injury situation and looks ahead to a second-half push that could put a division title run in play.
In Other News...
Guardians Have 3 Prospects They Cannot Afford To Trade
The Guardians still control their own playoff fate despite a rough patch, which is why the trade deadline conversation around Cleveland is so tricky. The club has clear needs on offense, in the bullpen and behind the rotation, but it also has one of the deeper farm systems in the game, giving it enough prospect capital to chase help without stripping the cupboard bare.
Ralphy Velazquez, Braylon Doughty and Jace LaViolette are the names that keep coming up as the kinds of young players Cleveland should not put in play. Velazquez has shot up the prospect ladder and now sits near the top of the organizations rankings, while Doughty has impressed at High-A Lake County and continues to look like part of the next wave of pitching. LaViolette took some time to get going, but his recent progress has reminded the Guardians why his upside is still very much worth protecting. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Slide Sends A Worrying Message During Jose Ramirez Absence
The Guardians have spent the last stretch trying to stay afloat while Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez work their way back from injuries, and the effects are showing up in more than just the lineup card. Cleveland has slipped in Bleacher Reports latest power rankings, a reflection of how hard it has been to keep pace in the AL Central while key contributors are unavailable.
The standings picture has shifted quickly, too, with the club going from a half-game lead on June 13 to a one-game deficit behind the White Sox. The Twins are still hanging around as well, which makes every missed opportunity feel a little bigger for a Guardians team that needs some help, some health and a little stability before the division race gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians May Soon Face Their Toughest Gabriel Arias Decision Yet
Gabriel Arias keeps giving the Guardians reasons to believe in the raw ability, even if the production has been harder to pin down. In a recent game, he flashed the kind of power and defensive range that still make him such an intriguing part of Clevelands roster picture, launching a 429-foot home run and turning in a strong play at third base, the sort of reminder that the tools are very real even as the consistency at the plate remains uneven.
The bigger issue is what all of that means for his future in Cleveland, especially with Jose Ramirez working his way back from hand surgery and the roster picture set to tighten around the trade deadline. Arias has spent time at second base, shortstop and third, yet the Guardians still have not settled on where he fits best long term, which leaves his next few weeks carrying more weight than a typical hot streak or slump. [Read more 🡒]