Lets dive into the young shortstop’s AAA performance
With an injury to Gabriel Arias, and Rocchio absent from the Clippers lineup, it is looking like Rocchio may be recalled. Arias received an x-ray, and the results were negative, but seeing as he was carted off the field an IL stint seems likely. Regardless, Rocchio’s AAA production is worth taking a look at.
After making the opening day roster as the starting shortstop, Brayan Rocchio had a forgettable 35 games. He slashed .165/.235/.198 while whiffing and chasing an uncharacteristically high amount leading to a 0.24 K/BB ratio. With -3 Defensive Runs Saved, he looked lost in the field as well.
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I think many of us have written Rocchio off completely, but the 24 year old has started to look like who he was supposed to be in Columbus. I don’t believe he is going to suddenly play like the top prospect he once was, however the beginning of this season was certainly not his true talent.
In Columbus Rocchio is slashing .255/.353/.490 and a 0.85 K/BB ratio. His chase% is down 15% from his time in MLB and his whiff rate is down 5%. Rocchio still isn’t going to impact the ball very much, so the chase/whiff numbers trending in the right direction is the best sign you can hope for from him. The plate discipline and bat to ball skills were always lauded as some of his best attributes when he was a prospect; hopefully these are meaningful improvements and not just a result of the pitching skill gap from AAA to MLB.
Rocchio has spent most of his time playing shortstop in Columbus while mixing in at 3B and 2B here and there. In the event he does get called up, I doubt the Guardians would tap him to take over the SS role full time.
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Before being demoted Rocchio was visibly upset at himself for his play, the body language was loud and clear. We can only hope that he has built up confidence that allows him to play at least close to the level of 2024. That’s such a low bar it’s sad to even hope for it but at this point in the season… hope is basically all that’s left for this offense.