Cleveland Indians outfield plan after Eddie Rosario, Jordan Luplow trades

Bradley Zimmer, OF, Cleveland Indians

A first round pick by the Cleveland Indians during the 2014 MLB Draft, Bradley Zimmer has shown flashes of his potential throughout his career. Unfortunately, finding consistency has been a bit of an issue for him, and that’s partially due to a run of injuries he’s had that limited him to just 43 major league games between 2018 and 2019.

Now, Zimmer seems to be rediscovering his swing at the major league level. Over the last 28 days, Zimmer is slashing .281/.349/.421 with two doubles, two home runs, two stolen bases and seven RBI. Much of that production has come from a change in the batting order.

When Zimmer is leading off an inning this season, he’s slashing .325/.400/.400, including a home run. In fact, when he is batting first in the order this year, he has been able to slash .318/.400/.500 with a double, a home run and three RBI. The only other spot in the order where he is batting over .300 is ninth. Everything else is sub-.250.

It’s clear that Zimmer is most comfortable either at the top or the bottom of the order. As for in the field, he’s been error-free this season with a .995 career fielding percentage. While it’s taken him a bit longer than anticipated to find his stride, Zimmer is making a strong case for more playing time, especially with the leadoff spot now up for grabs.