Biography
Brayan Hommy Rocchio (born January 13, 2001) is a Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
Career
Rocchio was signed as an international free agent by the Cleveland Indians in July 2017. He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Indians in 2018.
Rocchio was promoted to the Arizona League Indians after hitting .323 in 25 games for the DSL Indians. He had an even better season with the AZL Indians, hitting for a .343 batting average in 35 games. Across both leagues in his first professional season, Rocchio hit .335 in 60 games. For his 2019 season, he played the full season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in Low–A ball. He played in 69 games, hitting for a .250 batting average. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The newly named Cleveland Guardians selected Rocchio to their 40-man roster on November 19, 2021. Rocchio was optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers to begin the 2023 season.
On April 19, 2023, Rocchio was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He did not see game action for the Guardians and was optioned back to Columbus the following day, becoming a phantom ballplayer. On May 16, Rocchio was again promoted to the major leagues after José Ramírez was placed on the bereavement list and he made his major league debut that day.
Rocchio established himself as a potential regular in the 2024 playoffs, where he hit .333/.421/.485 in 33 at-bats. The Guardians lost to the Yankees in five games despite Rocchio's efforts. After this playoff series, he went back to playing mediocre at best.