Marlon Roche

Marlon Jose Roche

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 225 lb.

• Born April 11, 1973 in Caracas, Venezuela

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Marlon Roche was a minor league outfielder for ten years.

Roche hit .338 in his pro debut, with the 1993 DSL Astros. In 1994, he batted .315/.401/.404 with the GCL Astros. The next year, he played for the GCL Astros (.326/.393/.380, 20 R in 29 G) and Kissimmee Cobras (.227/.248/.299 in 26 G). During 1996, the 23-year-old hit .273/.340/.364 with only 5 steals in 17 tries for the Quad Cities River Bandits. Returning to the River Bandits in '97, he put up a .219/.286/.288 line to end his career in the Houston Astros chain. He played for the Venezuelan national team that won the Bronze in the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games.

Marlon resurfaced in 1999 in the independent leagues. He batted .313/.366/.413 for the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs for his third .300 season in the minors. In 2000, he did even better at .339/.405/.475. He was 5th in the Northern League's Eastern Division in average but failed to crack the All-Star outfield. He hit .336/.402/.498 with a career-high 10 dingers in '01. He was third in the division in batting average behind Francisco Matos and Aaron Fera and was named the All-Star DH. He batted .287/.366/.423 for the 2002 Duluth-Superior Dukes. He wrapped up his playing career with the 2003 Allentown Ambassadors, hitting .286/.356/.368.

Roche later was a Venezuelan-area scout for the Tampa Bay Rays, signing José Roca. He managed the VSL Rays to a 29-36 record in 2008 and also coached for that club in 2010-2012.