Guardians shortstop ‘stacking’ skills, building confidence during rookie season
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Toronto’s Davis Schneider was at the plate with the bases empty two weeks ago in the eighth inning of a game that the Guardians led by two runs. Schneider smashed a grounder toward Brayan Rocchio that left the bat at 98.8 mph. Cleveland’s rookie shortstop made a backhanded stop, spun on one knee toward the middle of the infield and fired a one-hop throw to first base that Josh Naylor gobbled up to retire the runner by a step.
What fans watching at home might not have noticed was that in the dugout, while the action played out on the diamond, Guardians infield coach Rouglas Odor and field coordinator Kai Correa were already celebrating before Rocchio’s throw even reached the bag.
The work that Cleveland’s young shortstop has put in before every game this season with Odor and Correa is paying off with spectacular results in the field, and Rocchio’s confidence is growing by the minute as he continues to learn what it takes to play one of the most demanding positions on the field at the game’s highest level
Manager Stepen Vogt said Rocchio, 23, has worked tremendously hard on both sides of the ball, and while his results at the plate have admittedly been a bit inconsistent, the Venezuela native’s defense does not get talked about enough.
