Young middle infielder Brayan Rocchio is our No. 10 Cleveland Indians prospect for 2020, dropping two spots from last year’s No. 8 ranking.

Rocchio was signed out of Venezuela in the highly-touted 2017 international signing class for the Indians, and he was one of the Tribe’s top performers out of the DSL and the AZL.

The switch-hitter debuted in the Dominican Summer League, slashing .323/.391/.434 slashline through 25 games and earning a promotion. In Arizona, Rocchio’s slash improved to .343/.389/.448 and finishing third in the league in batting average while flashing some impressive leather defensively from shortstop, third and second base. He also led all Indians rookies in doubles with 10, and he did this all while just 17 years old.

Nicknamed “The Professor” due to his high baseball IQ and game awareness, Rocchio already shows the signs of a disciplined hitter, improving his walk rate to 6.3 percent and dropping his strikeout rate to 10.8 percent after getting promoted to the AZL. He was rated by Baseball America as the top prospect coming out of the 2018 Arizona Rookie League.

This past season, Rocchio debuted in the New York Penn League with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to mixed results. Rocchio posted a career best 6.8% walk rate and improved his power, slugging five home runs with a career-high ISO of .123, but it came at the expense of struggles to make consistent contact.

Rocchio slashed .250/.310/.373 through 69 games for the Scrappers with a 107 wRC+ in his age 18 season. He struck out a career-high 13.6% and struggled on the basepaths, stealing 14 bases while getting caught eight times.

He also struggled defensively, committing 20 errors in 62 games at shortstop, plus an additional four errors at second and third base.

That being said, this was Rocchio’s age 18 season and he was still above average in a tougher league. The talented shortstop is expected to make his full-season debut in 2020 at Single-A Lake County, where he’ll have twice as much time to show what he’s capable of.

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Logan Allen, LHP (Age 22)

2019 (AAA): 18 GS, 80.0 IP, 22.3 K%, 9.3 BB%, 5.85 ERA, 5.57 FIP

2019 (MLB): 4 GS, 27.2 IP, 13.4 K%, 10.2 BB%, 6.18 ERA, 5.49 FIP

Headlining piece of the Trevor Bauer trade, Allen was a top 100 MLBPipeline prospect at the time of his acquisition. Allen had a great MLB debut (7.0 shutout innings vs Milwaukee), but struggled in many of his other 2019 appearances in both MLB and Triple-A.

Will Benson, OF (Age 21)

2019 (A): 259 PA, .272/.371/.604, 18 HR, 18 SB, 14.3 BB%, 30.1 K%, 172 wRC+

2019 (A+): 255 PA, .189/.290/.304, 4 HR, 9 SB, 12.2 BB%, 28.6 K%, 75 wRC+

Former 1st round pick dominated in his repeat stint at Lake County in 2019, one of only two MiLB players in 2019 to have a 20 HR, 20 SB season (besides Luis Robert). Struggled after midseason promotion, but did post career-low K% at High-A.

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Aaron Bracho, SS (Age 18)

2019 (R): 137 PA, .296/.416/.593, 6 HR, 4 SB, 16.8 BB%, 15.3 K%, 162 wRC+

2019 (A-): 32 PA, .222/.344/.481, 2 HR, 0 SB, 15.6 BB%, 25.0 K%, 141 wRC+

Injury kept him from debuting in 2018, but the DR native made up for it in 2019, rebuilding his hype by posting incredible numbers in the AZL and earning a promotion to Mahoning Valley.

Bobby Bradley, 1B (Age 23)

2019 (AAA): 283 PA, .264/.344/.567, 33 HR, 0 SB, 10.2 BB%, 33.8 K%, 125 wRC+

2019 (MLB): 84 PA, .178/.245/.356, 1 HR, 0 SB, 8.2 BB%, 40.8 K%, 51 wRC+

A career best 33 home runs at Triple-A earned the slugging first baseman his first cup of coffee with the Indians. He hit the hardest home run for the Tribe in the statcast era, but also whiffed in 40% of his at bats. Will need to cut down on the Ks if he wants to stay in the show.

Yu Chang, SS (Age 24)

2019 (AAA): 453 PA, .253/.322/.427, 9 HR, 0 SB, 9.2 BB%, 23.7 K%, 88 wRC+

2019 (MLB): 49 PA, .178/.286/.274, 1 HR, 0 SB, 13.1 BB%, 26.2 K%, 50 wRC+

Slowed by injuries in 2019, but made his MLB debut and showcased improved patience against MLB pitchers. Potential full-time utility candidate for the 2020 season with room to grow.

Daniel Espino, RHP (Age 19)

2019 (R): 6 GS, 13.2 IP, 30.2 K%, 9.4 BB%, 1.98 ERA, 4.20 FIP

2019 (A-): 3 GS, 10.0 IP, 40.0 K%, 11.1 BB%, 6.30 ERA, 2.60 FIP

2019 first-round pick struck out a third of the batters he faced in Rookie ball and only got more deadly in Low-A as a 19-year-old. Fastball sits in upper 90s, occasionally touching triple digits. He. Is. 19.

Scott Moss, LHP (Age 25)

2019 (AA): 22 GS, 112.0 IP, 28.7 K%, 13.1 BB%, 3.13 ERA, 3.41 FIP

2019 (AAA): 4 GS, 18.2 IP, 30.3 K%, 10.5 BB%, 1.93 ERA, 3.14 FIP

Acquired from the Reds in the Trevor Bauer trade, Moss put up career-best strikeout numbers in 2019 and finished the season in Triple-A. Depending on injuries, he could be a spot starter for the Indians in 2020.

Gabriel Rodriguez, SS (Age 17)

2019 (DSL): 170 PA, .238/.335/.406, 3 HR, 3 SB, 8.8 BB%, 15.9 K%, 106 wRC+

2019 (R): 73 PA, .215/.288/.262, 0 HR, 1 SB, 5.5 BB%, 30.1 K%, 51 wRC+

The top Indians international signing from 2018, Rodriguez performed admirably in his DSL debut at 17 years old, earning a late season promotion to the Arizona Rookie League.

Ka’ai Tom, OF (Age 25)

2019 (AA): 343 PA, .285/.386/.512, 14 HR, 3 SB, 12.5 BB%, 21.3 K%, 162 wRC+

2019 (AAA): 211 PA, .298/.370/.564, 9 HR, 2 SB, 10.0 BB%, 25.1 K%, 132 wRC+

Breakout 2019 season saw him dominate offensively at both Double-A and Triple-A, nearly doubling his previous career best in home runs. One of few MiLB players with double digit HR, triples and doubles in 2019 (23, 10, 25).

Carlos Vargas, RHP (Age 20)

2019 (A-): 15 GS, 77.2. IP, 21.9 K%, 7.4 BB%, 4.52 ERA, 3.36 FIP

Flamethrowing right-handed starter who can approach triple digits with a low to mid-90s slider. Improved control in 2019 saw him get hit more, but showed flashes of brilliance, like final 2019 start with 7.0 scoreless innings.