Guardians are getting offensive help in a way literally no one saw coming 

While every modern baseball team needs some kind of superstar producing in the middle of their lineup, the best teams in baseball are able to get production from the bottom of their lineup. 

And the Guardians have become one of baseball’s best teams at getting production from the bottom of their lineup thanks to Brayan Rocchio, who is in the midst of a breakout season after struggling early in his big league career. 

The Guardians have gotten 26 RBI from their No. 9 hitter — 25 of which have come from Rocchio. In total, Rocchio’s posted a .293/.358/.421 slashline from the No. 9 spot in the Guardians’ lineup to go along with four home runs, 25 RBI and 18 runs scored. 

For most teams, the final spot in the batting order is a bit of a throwaway spot. While Rocchio’s 150 at-bats from that spot in the order lead MLB, the next four players with the most at-bats from there are four glove-first players (Kyle Isbel, Victor Scott, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Taylor Walls). 

Bryan Rocchio has been the most productive No. 9 hitter in baseball

Rocchio fit into that exact archetype early in his career when he hit .222 across the first 281 games of his big league career from 2023 to ‘25. He moved forward a bit in 2024, but took such a huge step back last season that the Guardians sent him down to Triple-A last May. 

But he bounced back well last season after moving to second base, but he’s shifted back to shortstop this season after Gabriel Arias’ hamstring injury. 

He’s been even better as of late, as he’s posted a .379/.457/.517 slashline over the past 10 games with one home run, seven RBI and four steals. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Guardians have gone 6-3 in that stretch. 

Rocchio’s production at the bottom of the lineup is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s great that he’s providing a ton of production at the bottom of the Guardians’ lineup. It’s a huge advantage that very few teams have. 

But the other side of that sword is that fact that production is coming from the bottom of the lineup and not the top. 

Cleveland’s leadoff hitters have combined for a wRC+ of just 67, which is tied for the fourth-worst mark in baseball.

Most of those struggles are tied to Steven Kwan struggling at the plate, and the Guardians finally addressed that over the weekend by moving him down to the No. 6 spot in the order. 

That could help unlock even more production from Rocchio since it means less of the rallies he starts would fizzle out in the form of a weak grounder or pop fly from Kwan. 

Rocchio’s been a cheat code for the Guardians this season, and it seems like it’s not going to stop any time soon.

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