The Cleveland Guardians opened a crucial series with the Detroit Tigers on Friday with a 3-2 victory thanks to another great start from Tanner Bibee, who appears to be finding his stride. Cleveland had lost six of seven heading into the game and needed a win in the worst way, especially with the return of Tarik Skubal looming on Saturday.
The rest of the rotation picked up the slack during Bibee’s 0-7 start, but his last few starts have looked much more like his usual self. The dominant seven-inning performance was much needed since the Guardians’ offense sputtered a bit once again as they only squeezed out three runs.
Cleveland scored five runs or fewer in all six of their losses during their recent skid, but one bat that has continued to produce has been that of shortstop Brayan Rocchio. He has been so consistent, in fact, that Cade Cracas believes it’s time to seriously consider him for his first All-Star bid.
“It’s hard to imagine an All-Star roster with Brayan Rocchio not on it. He’s taken major steps this year on both ends of his game. What a beautiful grab on Friday night against the Tigers,” Cracas tweeted.
It’s hard to imagine an All-Star roster with Brayan Rocchio not on it.
He’s taken major steps this year on both ends of his game. What a beautiful grab on Friday night against the Tigers. #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/Dy6A5zON8J
— Cade Cracas (@CracasCade) June 12, 2026
Rocchio leads the team in batting average at .277, which is not something anybody expected coming into this season. His OPS is up .132 points from last year and he has already equaled last season’s home run total, so bringing him up in All-Star conversations isn’t far-fetched whatsoever.
It’s going to be tough to beat out Bobby Witt Jr., Zach Neto, and Kevin McGonigle, but other than them, the field gets thin rather quickly. McGonigle, Witt, and Colson Montgomery have Rocchio beaten out in WAR, and while it’s likely to be an uphill battle for him to make it to Philadelphia, you never know what can happen if he keeps his head down and keeps raking.
The shortstop’s improvement has been one of the most exciting developments of this young season for the Guardians. If he can keep this up throughout the summer, it will force the front office to have some bigger conversations about whether or not he can be Travis Bazzana’s counterpart in the middle infield for the next decade.
NEXT: Guardians Are Drawing Big Crowds For Tigers Series
