Cleveland Guardians Top 30 Prospects: #2 Brayan Rocchio

I've talked ad nauseam over the course of this series about Cleveland's preference for command-over-stuff arms and prioritizing position players with above-average contact skills. It's a broad generalization that's largely true, but it can be specified even further. The Guardians prefer to draft the majority of their pitching from college, especially those that have multiple years of experience under their belts on top of advanced command.The international free agent market is where Cleveland signs predominantly position players with the contact skills the organization covets while they are young and projectable. Already in my top 30 we've discussed Jhonkensy Noel, Jaison Chourio, Jose Tena, Angel Martinez, and George Valera who largely fit that description, and there are many more throughout the entire Guardians system. Just as the 2021 draft class appears to be a special group — producing six members of my 2023 top 30 — so too is the 2017 international free agent class, producing another four members of this list, the last of which has developed into a pleasant surprise compared to the original expectations for that class.[embed]https://twitter.com/AkronRubberDuck/status/1542673456885547010?s=20[/embed]Brayan Rocchio, a 22-year-old shortstop prospect and native of Venezuela, is my second-ranked Guardians prospect. Originally somewhat of an afterthought when he signed for $125,000 as a member of Cleveland's vaunted 2017 international free agent class, he has worked his way into the conversation as one of the best middle infield prospects in the system. At the time Aaron Bracho and George Valera were seen as the headliners, but the 2017 class also included Jhonkensy Noel and Jose Tena.After signing with Cleveland Rocchio made his professional debut in 2018 during the Dominican Summer League and quickly made an impression on coaches and teammates alike. Rocchio, affectionately nicknamed "The Professor" for his defensive prowess and game intellect by Cleveland international scout Jhonathan Leyba, models his game after former Cleveland All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor. It's lofty company to aspire to be apart of, so how has Rocchio made his ascent?[embed]https://twitter.com/BallySportsCLE/status/1109303097891782657?s=20[/embed]Rocchio got a full taste of the upper minors in 2022, splitting 132 games between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. Between both levels, he hit .257/.336/.420 with 27 doubles, 18 home runs, 14 stolen bases, and 54 walks (9.2%) to 102 strikeouts (17.5%). Rocchio's average suffered a little when he hit just .234 in 33 games with Columbus, but he struck out at a 13.8% clip (18.8% in Akron) and posted a suboptimal .241 BABIP that both suggests bad luck and implies positive regression.Overall Rocchio has played in 369 professional games. He owns a career .275/.343/.427 batting line with 77 doubles, 40 home runs, 71 stolen bases, and 122 walks (7.4%) to 279 strikeouts (17%). Before his poor batted ball luck when he reached Columbus Rocchio posted a .265/.349/.432 triple slash, much more in line with his career averages suggesting his .234 batting average with the Clippers was more of an outlier. The 33-game sample in Columbus is also the first time Rocchio posted a wRC+ below 107 at any level (81).Rocchio is a budding multi-tool talent who should be a very well-rounded player at his peak. He possesses excellent speed, having stolen 20+ bases in 2018 and 2021, and there's optimism about his power potential having set career highs in doubles and home runs in consecutive seasons. Rocchio's calling card on offense is his elite contact ability and advanced approach at the plate. As a switch hitter, Rocchio posts better numbers from the left-handed batter's box, but it's a well-rounded profile that posts healthy line drive and fly ball rates, and one that can use the entire field. Rocchio does have a tendency to be over-aggressive at times, but it doesn't translate to inflated strikeouts, rather he puts up some weak contact instead of working the count more.[embed]https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1566502236213182464?s=20[/embed]The Professor is still known for his defense, though the bat has been an exciting development. Rocchio played most of his minor league career at shortstop before playing noticeably more games at second base in 2022. The arm, range, and reaction are above-average which should translate to being an impact defender at either shortstop or second base at the next level.Rocchio is my personal favorite prospect in the system, and in my perfect world, he's half of one of the league's most exciting double-play tandems alongside Andres Gimenez in 2024. He's still just 22, and as long as the Guardians have Amed Rosario at shortstop it's unlikely Rocchio will see much more than a September cup of coffee in 2023. Cleveland will let Rocchio get as much seasoning in Columbus as they think is necessary to prepare him to compete for a job next Spring.Rocchio is on 20-20 watch in what I expect to be a full season with the Clippers, and his .241 BABIP from 2022 should rebound nicely. The expectation for Rocchio shouldn't be more contact, but better quality of contact in 2023. He possesses all the right traits to work counts and identify pitches, but the aggression will need to be tamed to help Rocchio tap into his full potential. It's a profile not all that dissimilar from Gimenez's, and we've seen how that's worked out for Cleveland. The first crack at breaking the middle infield logjam will belong to Rocchio next season, and I can't wait to watch it.The List so Far:3. Gavin Williams4. Bo Naylor5. George Valera6. Tanner Bibee7. Logan Allen8. Chase DeLauter9. Angel Martinez10. Cody Morris11. Justin Campbell12. Jose Tena13. Xzavion Curry14. Gabriel Arias15. Jaison Chourio16. Will Brennan17. Joey Cantillo18. Juan Brito19. Nate Furman20. Petey Halpin21. Parker Messick22. Doug Nikhazy23. Tanner Burns24. Joe Lampe25. Isaiah Greene26. Jake Fox27. Jhonkensy Noel28. Jack Leftwich29. Trenton Denholm30. Peyton Battenfield