The Indians drafts were so bad for nearly two decades that the joy of waiting to see a top prospect break through to the Majors was essentially absent for the Tribe for an extremely long time. That turned around with Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis coming up in 2011 and since then we’ve enjoyed many others coming up, culminating with Francisco Lindor in 2015 and Tyler Naquin in 2016. Now, it’s time for the first Major League appearance of 2014 first round draft pick (21st overall), Bradley Zimmer.
While this isn’t the perfect situation for the Tribe as injuries to Austin Jackson, Brandon Guyer, Abraham Almonte and Tyler Naquin have essentially forced the team to delve deeper into the minor league system perhaps a bit earlier than preferred, there’s little question that Zimmer has been incredibly hot and is at least near MLB ready.
In his second season in Columbus, Zimmer has hit .294/.371/.532 with 11 doubles and five home runs. He’s also stolen nine bases in 12 tries, something that has been severely lacking from the MLB team. In his MiLB career, Zimmer has always had the dual threat of speed and power, averaging more than 25 doubles, 15 home runs and 41 steals over the last two seasons. A college draft pick, Zimmer is already 24 despite being in the system for just his fourth season in 2017.
Zimmer’s biggest issue is the strike out (he K’d 171 times last year and has 43 already in 2017). Recently, his offensive production has picked up, but so has his K rate, striking out 20 times in his last 12 games with at least one in each game.
The left handed hitting centerfielder does have slight reverse splits, hitting .323/.389/.581 against lefties, but he’s still been strong against right handers, batting .284/.364/.516. He’s struck out at a very similar rate against both sides (27% vs LHP, 30% vs RHP) and his walk rate has improved lately, taking a base on balls eight times in the last ten games.
Defensively, Zimmer stands to be an improvement over everyone the Indians have used in center field this season and, thanks to his ability to hit all pitchers, he won’t be just a part time platoon option as they’ve used to fill in for much of this season. He has a solid arm (2 assists in 2017, 8 in 2016 and 7 in 2015) and decent range with great speed. If he can continue playing as he did in AAA, it’s very easy to see Zimmer not just being a short term injury replacement until Jackson or Naquin return, but becoming the starting center fielder for the long run. Bringing him up this early also will allow him to adjust to Major League pitching for an extended period rather than calling him up later in the season and expecting him to produce in the play-offs.
To make room for Zimmer (and to clean up the outfield situation), Yandy Diaz was optioned back to AAA and Almonte was placed on the 10 Day DL. Carlos Frias was designated for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster for Zimmer. Shawn Armstrong was also recalled from Columbus. For those worried about service time, by waiting this long, the Indians should still get an extra year of team control, but Zimmer will likely get Super 2 status if he stays on roster all year, meaning he will get four arbitration eligible seasons.
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