Guardians praise young MLB infielder and call him ‘Older than his age’

Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio is 23 years old.

For a couple of years, he was seen as one of the best prospects in Cleveland’s system, with silky-smooth hands at his position, some pop and speed.

He is now the regular at shortstop for the Guardians, and even though he posted a disappointing .614 regular season OPS, he was brilliant in the playoffs with a .906 mark.

Members of the Guardians organization praised him for his maturity and warn he has more upside according to his time in the minor leagues.

“He has acted older than his age. He has studied the game. He has always wanted to be a Major League player, and he has put that in day in and day out,” GuardsInsider posted on X with a couple of interviews.

Those are the words of Guardians assistant general manager James Harris, who is very much familiar with Rocchio’s evolution through the years.

In the clip, you can also watch what infield coach Rouglas Odor, who has managed him since his days in Double-A, has to say about Rocchio.

Per GuardsInsider, Rocchio “has always been a student of the game, and his Minor League experiences prepared him for his moment on baseball’s biggest stage.”

The hope is that his strong postseason fuels an offensive breakout next year, and he will need it because he will be playing for his future on the team.

The organization drafted Travis Bazzana to be their second baseman of the future, which means they could slide Andrés Giménez to shortstop and leave Rocchio on the outside looking.

That is, of course, unless Rocchio can change their minds are with his performance.

The glove is already there.

It’s time for the offense to step up.