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Brayan Rocchio
Shortstop Brayan Rocchio, who was promoted to Triple-A Columbus on Saturday, patterns his game after a few of the greatest shortstops to ever suit up for Cleveland. If all goes according to his plan, the organization’s No. 4-ranked prospect hopes to have a similar career one day.
“Growing up I watched a lot of Asdrúbal Cabrera, he was my favorite player,” Rocchio said after taking batting practice recently in Akron. “I love [Francisco] Lindor. I try to do every single thing on the field like him.”
A switch-hitting shortstop who was born and raised in Venezuela -- like his baseball heroes Omar Vizquel and Cabrera -- Rocchio was one of the standout prospects from Cleveland’s highly touted international class of 2017 that included No. 2 prospect George Valera, No. 17 prospect Jhonkensy Noel and No. 18 prospect Jose Tena. Rocchio signed for $100,000 out of Caracas and immediately made an impact. He was added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster after a breakout 2021 season in which he hit .277/.346/.460 with 15 homers and 21 steals in 108 games between High A Lake County and Double-A Akron. Assigned to the Double-A Rubberducks to start the 2022 season, the 21-year-old posted a 1.086 OPS in July after averaging a .702 OPS from April to June. He made his Triple-A debut over the weekend -- putting him just one step away from his big-league dreams. - mlb.com
Good picture available for him but the one in the pack seemed particularly heavy-set. Redid it per request.
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