Cleveland Guardians Rookie Reversing His Season Narrative

Brayan Rocchio has been on the Cleveland Guardians' best hitters over the last few weeks.

Sep 6, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) hits a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Who would play shortstop for Cleveland Guardians was a hot topic coming out of spring training.

There seemed to be an open competition between Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias for the position, with Rocchio eventually being named the team's everyday left-side middle infielder.

However, questions about Cleveland's best shortstop option continued during the season, as both alternatives left much to be desired at the plate. Arias was eventually optioned to Triple-A, but Stephen Vogt continued to use Rocchio as his everyday shortstop, sprinkling in Daniel Schneemann and Tyler Freeman at times there, too.

Rocchio continued to be a solid defensive option for the Guardians, but the offense continued to be an issue. Through the first five months of the season, Rocchio has a .215 batting average and a .632 OPS. His lack of power was the biggest concern, ranking third percentile in average exit velocity.

Sep 6, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

However, Rocchio is changing the narrative of his rookie season with how he's played over the last month. We're finally getting to see why he was regarded as a top prospect for the team heading into the season.

In his last 30 games, the infielder is hitting .263/.329/.487, which includes five home runs and 13 RBI. Over the last week, Rocchio has a .368 batting average and a 1.093 OPS.

Arguably, his best swing of the entire year came on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers when Rocchio launched a solo home run in the eighth inning.

Rocc Nation. 🫡#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/NA404JMwtG

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 7, 2024

Stephen Vogt has certainly taken notice of this offensive uptick and credit Rocchio for not putting in the work to continuly get better.

"Rocchio has had an interesting year offensively, we'll put it that way," said Vogt following Cleveland's 3-1 win over the Dodgers on Friday night.

"I mean, it's been ups and downs. But he has continued to play great defense. He's had a great attitude. It just seems like he's growing up more and more and truly believing that he belongs here as well as well he should."

The Guardians could be looking at one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball if Rocchio can keep this production up through September and into the postseason.