Cleveland Indians: Bradley Zimmer Summer Training performance has to translate

The Cleveland Indians need Bradley Zimmer to produce if they have a shot at winning in 2020 and beyond.

If you’re a fan of the Cleveland Indians, it’ll be nice to hear that Bradley Zimmer homered twice in the July 15 intrasquad game, one against Mike Clevenger. For The Indians to achieve success in not just 2020 but beyond, Zimmer has to start producing like the first-round pick he was drafted to be. The Indians won’t have Yasiel Puig anymore, and Franmil Reyes expected to DH a lot of the year, so there’s going to be holes to fill in the outfield.  Meaning that Zimmer has no excuse not to be a favorite for a spot.

Zimmer needs to make sure his summer training performance continues on into the regular season. He’s going to be given a shot, mostly due to the fact the team can’t afford not to, but if he’s able to produce then this team might just be fine for years to come. While it’s only a small sample size, reminding people what he can do in these extended training sessions is necessary.

Zimmer can’t afford to get lost in the shuffle. He can’t afford to keep going up and down like a Tyler Naquin between the leagues. He has to stay and be consistent. A guy like Naquin can be shifted around because the team and the organization don’t see Naquin as the face of the team. There is no extra pressure on his shoulders. Naquin in his own right is a really good player, but if he struggles, so what? Zimmer was the first-round pick for the Indians in 2014 and came in with all the hype in the world. Players like Clint Fraizer were deemed “expendable” because Zimmer was supposed to be that good.

If Zimmer gets demoted again, he may not have anyone supporting a call up back to the majors unless he turns into TripeA-Barry Bonds.

The 2020 season won’t be long, but should Zimmer impress enough in the last few weeks of camp to earn a starting job, then it’s all on him from here on out. Show people what you can do, and earn the right to be the face of the franchise. Otherwise, you’ll simply be placed with Matt LaPorta and all the other highly vaunted sluggers who failed to pan out.