SCOTTSDALE, Ariz: Indians outfield prospect Bradley Zimmer has been tearing through Cactus League play this spring training, a positive sign after a stagnated six- to eight-month stretch.
The Indians and Zimmer hope this spring is a byproduct of his revamped swing and stance rounding into form, and not entirely a mirage of small sample sizes.
This spring, Zimmer is hitting .354 with three home runs, five doubles, 12 RBI and four stolen bases in 48 at-bats entering Wednesday’s game.
Last July, Zimmer worked with Tim Laker, now an assistant hitting coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks, while with the RubberDucks to alter his swing and stance after a rough start to the 2016 season.
The idea was to narrow his stance, loosen his hands and alter some of his swing mechanics in order to improve his swing path through the zone and be able consistently to get to more pitches, among other things. He needed to hit a wider array of pitches consistently, and when he pulled the ball, he needed to find more power.
Zimmer rebounded a bit after the changes but then struggled upon being promoted to Triple-A. His play descended further in the Arizona Fall League, where he racked up strikeouts against left-handed pitchers at an alarming rate.
Zimmer attributes some of those struggles, especially against left-handers, in part to the ongoing swing changes. He’s rarely hit lefties well, but his splits had spiraled. He also fell off some top-100 prospect lists.
“I think it was more of a mindset, working on some stuff last year, that kind of led to that,” Zimmer said. “I’m feeling comfortable now. Everything’s where I want it to be. The swing is starting to come around.”
Zimmer has been getting to more pitches than before and hitting many of them hard. It’s still only spring training, which can be ground zero for fool’s gold, but it’s also what the Indians had been looking for when Zimmer’s swing was altered midway through last season.
“It’s more of a natural thing for me now,” Zimmer said. “Everything feels really good and short [through the zone]. It’s where we’re trying to get to. It’s feeling good right now.”
It’s served as a reminder of why Zimmer has been so highly regarded for several years within the Indians system, not only for his bat but for his ability to run the bases and play center field. The Indians traded away Clint Frazier to acquire Andrew Miller last July, thus leaving Zimmer with a bigger piece of the Indians’ future outfield puzzle.
“Boy, he’s had a heck of a spring,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of Zimmer. “He’s got some long limbs, long levers, but he impacts the ball probably better than anybody in camp. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark from foul line to foul line. Watching him run the bases has been a treat.
“He’s getting better in the outfield. His ability in the outfield is really good. He was kind of raw out there when he first got here. But he’s worked hard and you’re seeing some flashes that he can be an everyday center fielder defensively and probably be a guy that helps you defensively.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ.