Brayan Rocchio Explained

Brayan Rocchio
Team:Cleveland Guardians
Number:4
Position:Shortstop
Bats:Switch
Throws:Right
Birth Date:13 January 2001
Birth Place:Caracas, Venezuela
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:May 16
Debutyear:2023
Debutteam:Cleveland Guardians
Statleague:MLB
Statyear:2024 season
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.213
Stat2label:Home runs
Stat2value:8
Stat3label:Runs batted in
Stat3value:44
Teams:

Brayan Hommy Rocchio (born January 13, 2001) is a Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Career

Rocchio was signed as an international free agent by the Cleveland Indians in July 2017.[1] He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Indians in 2018.[2]

Rocchio was promoted to the Arizona League Indians after hitting .323 in 25 games for the DSL Indians.[3] He had an even better season with the AZL Indians, hitting for a .343 batting average in 35 games. Across both leagues in his first professional season, Rocchio hit .335 in 60 games.[4] For his 2019 season, he played the full season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in LowA ball. He played in 69 games, hitting for a .250 batting average. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The newly named Cleveland Guardians selected Rocchio to their 40-man roster on November 19, 2021. Rocchio was optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers to begin the 2023 season.[5]

On April 19, 2023, Rocchio was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[6] He did not see game action for the Guardians and was optioned back to Columbus the following day, becoming a phantom ballplayer.[7] On May 16, Rocchio was again promoted to the major leagues after José Ramírez was placed on the bereavement list[8] and he made his major league debut that day.

Rocchio established himself as a potential regular in the 2024 playoffs, where he hit .333/.421/.485 in 33 at-bats. The Guardians lost to the Yankees in five games despite Rocchio's efforts.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: No. 6 Brayan Rocchio, SS: Cleveland Indians top prospects right now. Joe. Noga. Cleveland.com. March 18, 2020.
  2. Web site: Brayan Rocchio is our No. 6 Cleveland prospect. Who should be No. 7?. Brian. Hemminger. Covering the Corner. January 18, 2021.
  3. Web site: Brayan Rocchio: The Next Big Thing. Joseph. Coblitz. The Sports Daily. January 16, 2019.
  4. Web site: Brayan Rocchio Statistics. Baseball Reference.
  5. Web site: Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Top prospect sent to minors. March 15, 2023. cbssports.com. en.
  6. Web site: Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Call-up official . CBSSports.com . 2023-04-19 . 2024-10-14.
  7. Web site: Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Optioned to Triple-A. April 20, 2023. cbssports.com. en.
  8. Web site: Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Receiving promotion. May 16, 2023. cbssports.com. May 16, 2023 . en.