Guardians' Brayan Rocchio has shined since returning from minors

CLEVELAND — Brayan Rocchio is a .222 hitter over his first two years in the majors. Then there's "Playoff Rocc." That version of the middle infielder has been a dangerous offensive weapon at the end of the past two seasons, beginning with his impressive playoff performance last year. After struggling at the plate for much of 2024, Rocchio, the Guardians' starting shortstop at the time, found his groove in October, hitting .333 (11-for-33) with two doubles and a home run over 10 games. He hit .375 (6-for-16) during the Division Series win over Detroit. The offensive struggles returned to begin this season, but they were more magnified. As a result, the top-shelf defender lost his job at shortstop and was demoted to the minors. Like last year, Rocchio has gotten hot late. After batting under .200 in the first half, Rocchio hit .267 after the All-Star break and led Cleveland for a good chunk of the schedule in second-half RBIs. "He's found his confidence. He's found his swagger," teammate Steven Kwan said. "He is an unbelievably talented player. We were just saying 'Playoff Rocc' is coming up. The weather gets a little cooler and he starts heating up, so it's going to be exciting." "He just has that 'it' factor, the clutch factor, when the bigger the moment, the better he is," Austin Hedges said of Rocchio, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017. "He plays with a slow heart rate. He's built for that moment and we've been talking about it for two years now. Anytime Roku's up, we have so much confidence that he's going to get the job done." Rocchio doesn't have an explanation for why he's been able to flip the switch at the end of the year. "I think it is hard to explain, hard to put in words because it is not that I try to do anything different at that time. I always want to win," he said through an interpreter. "But I don't like to get comfortable. If you feel you're getting comfortable, that's when a lot of trouble is brewing. I got the experience, but I want to take it as if it was my first time (in the postseason) still." Getting comfy after thriving last postseason may have contributed to Rocchio's downfall in the first half. But his return from the minors has been another success story. "Once I got called (back) up, my mindset was just trying to help the team any way, and that's what we've been doing, trying to help the team," he said. "I was (saying) to my wife that regardless of the result, I couldn't be prouder of the work that I was able to put in, because I felt like I was digging from something within to get that strength to come back, to keep being resilient, keep fighting. It's that sense of pride that I was able to show what I'm capable of doing." Even Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has taken notice of the 24-year-old Rocchio. "What I see from the other side is a calm heartbeat. I see him under control," Hinch said. "I know that he's going to bring that defensively, and (there's) more and more offensive at-bats I've watched from the other side of him being comfortable in the moment. The ball in play is going to help him, too. "I think it's fun for me to look around the league and watch these young players grow and then a year later look at what they are and a year later after that. It's tough when they're on the other side and they get better, but he's gotten better, and I think that's a hat tip to him and the staff over there." Rocchio's 2025 journey has mirrored that of the Guardians, who started slowly but got hot at the right time. "Rocchio kind of epitomized his team in the second half of the season, bouncing back and everything," manager Stephen Vogt said. "Gold Glove finalist at shortstop (last year), gets off to a rough start, you go to (Triple-A) Columbus, you come back and you move to second base, and he's been one of our best hitters since he's come back. "It's super emblematic of our season and that we never quit. Every setback is an opportunity to get better and Rocc embodies that better than anybody." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.