Is Brayan Rocchio turning into the Guardians’ second baseman of the future? 

At the beginning of July, Bryan Rocchio gained some new life when the Cleveland Guardians recalled him from Triple-A after Gabriel Arias suffered a high-ankle sprain. 

After hitting just .165 across his first 35 games with the Guardians, Arias’ injury gave Rocchio a new lease on life with Cleveland. And he’s made the most of it thus far thanks to an improved approach and some newfound defensive versatility. 

That versatility has suddenly become Rocchio’s calling card, as all 25 of his last 30 appearances have come at second base — a position that he had never played in his career up until this year. 

Is Brayan Rocchio turning into the Guardians’ second baseman of the future? 

Although Rocchio’s start to the season left a lot to be desired, his second stint in the bigs this year has shown more of the profile that helped him become one of the top middle infield prospects in baseball. 

Rocchio entered Friday slashing .269/.308/.406 with three home runs, 25 RBI and 11 doubles. He’s been even better since moving to second base, as he’s hit .277 with two home runs and 14 RBI in the 30 games since becoming the team’s full-time second baseman. 

Although his defensive metrics haven’t been as great at second base (-4 Defensive Runs Saved), he’s paired well with Arias, who has become the team’s full-time shortstop. 

“[Rocchio’s] been taking reps the last week knowing this is coming. … I mean, Brayan Rocchio is one of the best infielders in the game, so I have all the confidence in the world,” manager Stephen Vogt told reporters when he announced that Rocchio would be handling second.  There’s going to be some growing pains, there’s going to be some things, maybe some plays he hasn’t made before, but I have all the confidence in the world that those two can be one of the best double-play combos in baseball.”

And, for what it’s worth, Arias has been everything as advertised at shortstop. While we always knew that he had an electric arm, it’s been on full display this year at short. 

He ranks in the 94th percentile in arm strength and has been worth five Outs Above Average at short. The only downside is that he has provided next to nothing at the plate (.198 batting average in 290 games since returning from the injured list). 

Meanwhile, Rocchio leads the Guardians with 21 second-half RBI and has shown a surprising amount of pop. 

The change in position also takes some pressure off Rocchio’s shoulders. While shortstop is a premium position (and demands premium production because of it), whereas second base is a bit different. 

While the Guardians would obviously love to get All-Star level production from Rocchio, a lack of production from your second baseman stings a little less than at your shortstop. 

This doesn’t mean that Rocchio is a finished product, however. He still has some uncompetitive at-bats (his extra-inning strikeout against the Rays on Wednesday was hard to watch), but he’s also provided some much-needed production at the bottom of the lineup. 

The Guardians still have plenty of things to figure out in regard to their middle infield for next season, but Rocchio has done a great job nailing his newest audition.