I guess Gomes got food poisoning or something, so he should not be out long. He's returned to being at least a decent hitter. And still great arm and I guess a good pitcher-handler, although Perez may be better at some of the defensive skills.

Cleveland Indians' struggling Danny Salazar on throwing weighted balls and looking for answers

Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com


TORONTO - As homecomings go, Edwin Encarnacion felt the love of Toronto's fans, but he didn't do what his new manager suggested.

Terry Francona, several hours before the Indians arrived in Toronto on Sunday night, was asked what kind of reception Encarnacion would receive upon his return to Rogers Centre. Francona hoped it would be a good one because of all the big things he'd done in a Toronto uniform in parts of the last eight seasons.

Francona added, "Then I hope he does something to break their hearts."

Encarnacion could hardly be called a heart breaker in the series. He went 3-for-9 with four walks and two runs. All his hits were singles. He certainly had plenty of opportunities to change the course of the two games the Indians lost, but homecomings can be tough.

When Mike Napoli returned to Boston last year with the Indians, he went 0-for-13 with nine strikeouts in three games.

What can be even more difficult than an emotional homecoming is watching Danny Salazar pitch through the early stages of this season. On Wednesday night the Indians, who averaged fewer than three runs per game on this just-completed nine-game trip, gave him a 2-0 lead in the first. But in the bottom of the same inning, Salazar allowed a three-run homer to Jose Bautista, who was in an 0-for-26 skid before he singled in the seventh inning of the Tribe's 6-0 win Tuesday night.

The Indians came back to take a 7-3 lead with a five-run third. What the Indians needed right there was a shutdown inning from Salazar. He allowed two runs instead and was removed with one out left in the inning.

The Blue Jays rallied to win the game, 8-7, in the ninth inning, but the foundation for a victory was there to be set in concrete in the early innings. All Salazar had to do was get batters out, but he couldn't.

In his seven starts this season, Salazar has a 14.14 ERA in the first inning. He's allowed 11 earned runs on 15 hits and five walks in seven first innings in 2017. Four of the 15 hits have been homers, and he's sprinkled in 13 strikeouts.

"I've been having problems getting my fastball down," said Salazar of his early-inning problems. "It might be that I'm doing something different. I think that's the only problem.
He's got to do a better job of throwing the ball over the plate and competing before he starts changing routines."

"Every time I need to throw my change-up or slider down, I leave it right in the middle. Then when I'm ahead in the count and try to throw my fastball down and away, it's up."

Salazar said he's going to figure it out what the problem is. One thing on his mind is weighted balls. He and a lot of the teammates throw weighted balls of various sizes as part of their conditioning. Salazar says he does it every day.

"I started doing the weighted balls last year when I got hurt," said Salazar. "It's good. I don't know if that's it. I started doing it in spring training last year, but I started throwing pitches all over the place. I couldn't find my release point.

"Then I stopped doing it and I was fine."

Salazar was more than fine. He went 10-3 with a 2.75 ERA in his first 17 starts and made the AL All-Star team. But his elbow was already hurting and he didn't pitch in the All-Star Game.

After the All-Star break, Salazar went 1-3 with a 7.44 ERA in eight starts. He spent time on the disabled list in August and his season all but ended on Sept. 9 when he strained his right forearm against the Twins. He did return to make two relief appearances in the World Series.

"When I got hurt and started using the weighted balls again, I got loose much faster," he said. "It felt good because I got loose, but when you throw that thing, you can't do it the same way that you throw a regular fastball because it's too heavy and you might get hurt."

Despite the benefits of throwing weighted balls, Salazar says his body feels like it's out of time. His upper body gets loose faster than his lower body.

"Every time you pitch it's a rhythm," said Salazar. "If you don't have just one movement to throw the ball, then it's not going to help."

So Salazar is thinking about scrapping the weighted-ball program. Or at least cutting back on it to help him get more of a feel for his pitches. He's says he's not trying to use it as an excuse, but he's looking for answers.

Pitching coach Mickey Callaway has talked to Salazar about not throwing so many pitches in the bullpen before he enters a game. As for the weighted ball program, Callaway said that Salazar wasn't doing it when he went to the All-Star Game.

But in the end Callaway said one thing that should resonate with Salazar.

"Overall, he needs to go out and throw strikes," said Callaway. "You look at what he's done since the All-Star break last year. I think he's got three wins and a 6.00 ERA and about five walks per nine innings.

"He's got to do a better job of throwing the ball over the plate and competing before he starts changing up routines."

Imagine a pitching coach, in this age of analytics, caring about a starting pitcher winning games.

Salazar is 3-6 with a 6.26 ERA (48 earned runs in 69 innings) since last year's All-Star break. In 15 starts, he's allowed 83 hits, including 12 homers, with 35 walks and 96 strikeouts. He's averaging 4.6 walks per nine innings and 12.52 strikeouts per nine innings.

Callaway evaluated Salazar's start against the Blue Jays this way, "He was kind of easing it in there early and gave up three runs like he did a couple of games ago. Then all of a sudden he pumps up to 97 mph to get the rest of the outs that inning. The next inning he went out there and you saw some 91s. I just don't think he has the confidence, or his mechanics in order, where he can let it go consistently."

Salazar, who has dealt with arm problems through much of his career, says he's healthy.

"My mind, my arm, my legs, everything is fine," said Salazar.

The exception, of course, is what's happening on the mound.

He went 3-for-9 with four walks and two runs. All his hits were singles

The patience is good. Good series if he were a leadoff hitter.

Don't give Tito any ideas!

"Each Team's Weakest Link"

Ours should be the outfield, but so far this season the article is correct:


Biggest Weakness: Starting Pitching

Combined Stats: 119 ERA-, 14-14, 48.5% QS, 4.85 ERA, 1.29 WHIP

Current Options: Corey Kluber (X), Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin, Mike Clevinger



Position Outlook

The Cleveland Indians rotation looked as dangerous as any in baseball heading into the year.

Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar were both back healthy after injuries left them as non-factors during the postseason, while Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin both gained valuable big-game experience in their absence.

Instead, ace Corey Kluber stumbled out of the gates before going down with lower back discomfort, while Bauer (7.36 ERA), Tomlin (7.12 ERA) and Salazar (5.20 ERA) have struggled mightily.

On the other hand, Carrasco has been brilliant with a 1.86 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and a 46-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 48.1 innings of work.

Mike Clevinger has stepped into the rotation in place of the injured Kluber after a strong start in Triple-A, and the team has further depth in the likes of Ryan Merritt and veteran Chris Narveson!!!.

It's a troubling start, to say the least, but the Indians have the talent to still be one of the better staffs in the league before all is said and done. Getting Kluber healthy will be key and they may need to consider leaving Clevinger in the rotation if he pitches well, but there's no reason for long-term concern.

F*** it, call up Bradley Zimmer

This game was awful and I don’t want to talk about it. So let’s talk about Bradley Zimmer instead.
by Matt R. Lyons@mattrly May 12, 2017, 10:20pm EDT


Hey there, person looking for a recap of tonight’s Cleveland Indians-Minnesota Twins game. First of all, why? Do you enjoy pain? Alright, you do you.

Anyway, if you’re into that kind of thing, Josh Tomlin pitched another gem, his second in a row, but the Indians offense was a dumpster fire, their ∞th in a row. Miguel Sano hit a very bad Josh Tomlin Pitch® in the first inning then nothing happened for two-and-a-half hours.

Unless you count the Indians loading the bases and getting nothing out of it as something. I don’t.

So instead, let’s talk about why I am officially throwing my hat into the “f*** it, let’s just promote Bradley Zimmer” ring. Throughout my plea, I’ll throw in some random fun facts from tonight’s game so anyone here strictly looking for a recap won’t feel like they completely wasted their time coming to this Myspace page.

Tonight, while Cleveland burned, something kind of exciting happened down in Columbus. Former top Indians prospect (or I guess still top Indians prospect, depending on who you talk to), Bradley Zimmer homered again. It was the 24-year-old’s fifth of the season and second in his last four games. The Columbus Clippers game is still ongoing as it got a late start due to rain, but as of this writing Zimmer is 2-for-3 on the day with just one strikeout.
[Michael Brantley was right not to try and “run out” an infield fly with one out. He had no way to know it would drop. Lay off him. ]

Currently, to put it lightly, the Indians outfield is decimated with injuries. Even in the minors, Tyler Naquin is day-to-day with a foot contusion. At least both injuries at the major-league level are to role players Abraham Almonte and Austin Jackson. However, outside of Michael Brantley everyone in the outfield is a roleplayer. There is no one player set at a position out there, even the great and bicepiful Yandy Diaz looked mortaler than usual roaming the outfield in a Tribe uniform. So injuries to Almonte and Jackson seem minor, but they are almost equally as devastating as if Lonnie Chisenhall or Brandon Guyer went down instead.

Meanwhile, Bradley Zimmer receives a 50-grade on his fielding from FanGraphs, while being called a natural-looking defender with above-average range in the outfield. Like Tyler Naquin, Zimmer may require some platooning, though. His splits are not quite as dramatic as Naquin’s — and at some levels Zimmer was fine against left-handed pitching — but it would benefit the Indians to pair him with someone else against southpaws in center field.
[Brandon Guyer, why did you bunt? Stop it.]

Zimmer is going to strike out a lot, we know this. Over his minor-league career he has whiffed 31.8 percent of the time, and he’s doing so one-third of his at-bats in Triple-A this season. But you know what, who cares? That’s right, I’m saying it. I don’t care if Bradley Zimmer strikes out a lot. It’s popular now. Striking out is the fidget spinners of the baseball world and Zimmer is just one of a dozen kids in class WUUURRRRRRing away while waiting for his turn to popcorn read Catcher in the Rye, hoping he gets a paragraph with a swear in it.

Like most players who are focusing more on the “three true outcomes” of baseball, Zimmer has proven to be a player who can walk in double-digit at-bats, he strikes out a lot, and he has good pop for his position. He might not be a super prospect anymore, but if his future really is as a fourth outfielder or spot replacement here or there, why not bring him up now when he can do exactly that? And if his future is a star, is he really going to improve that much more in Triple-A over the next two or three months before the Indians themselves say “fuck it, let’s call up Bradley Zimmer”? Like the horse in this very strange tweet, I say nay.

I will say, I am not advocating to call up Bradley Zimmer to provide some kind of “spark” for the Indians offense. In the same way that striking a flint stick will not stop your couch from burning, bringing up a rookie is not going to solve all of your offensive problems that caused you to get blanked by the Minnesota Twins. But at some point, with so many injuries, Zimmer just becomes the best fill-in at center field and/or occasionally right field.

Gee, Mrs. Zimmer nice letter but you shouldn't be saying "f*** it."

Indians' conga line of slumping hitters has scored one run in 24 innings
By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The survival trip has turned into the survival home stand.

The Indians just finished a 4-5 trip through Detroit, Kansas City and Toronto. They won four of the nine games despite averaging fewer than three runs a game.

Home cooking has not cured what ails manager Terry Francona's team. The Twins beat them, 1-0, on a three-hitter Friday. On Saturday, the Indians lost, 4-1, and once again were held to three hits.

It's the first time they've been held to three or fewer hits in consecutive games by the same team since a doubleheader against Boston on April 12, 1992. The Indians won Game 1, 2-1, despite Boston's Matt Young throwing an eight-inning no-hitter.

"It has not been the best 10 days (or so)," said manager Terry Francona.

The Indians have lost seven of their last 11 games. In those 11 games, they're averaing 2.5 runs per game. They have been held to one run in the last 24 innings.

Francona said the Tribe's hitters are trying to do too much. He pointed to the six pop ups they had Saturday.

"We talk so much about trying to get the line moving and keep it moving," said Francona. "We're not even getting it moving to start with. We're getting in that mode where everyone is trying to do more.

"We need base runners and guys who go first to third. When guys start popping up they're trying to do more."
Terry Francona says the Indians are frustrated but optimistic

Saturday's loss dropped the Indians two games behind the first-place Twins in the AL Central.

Asked if it was time for a team meeting, shortstop Francisco Lindor said, "No, no, no. We're in May. We've got a long way to go. We just have to continue to play the game the right way, continue to back each other up and see what happens."

Lindor says it's a matter of bunching hits together.

"Everybody here knows what we're capable of," he said. "We're not putting hits together. Brantley gets a couple of hits and no one hits. (Yan) Gomes walks, Carlos Santana gets a hit and I don't get a hit. It's all about timely hitting.

"We're going to have a game where we push each other and get one hit here, one hit there and all of a sudden we score five or six runs. It could be Sunday. It could be Monday."

Center of attention: Francona complimented Twins center fielder Byron Buxton after Saturday's game.

"That kid is impressive," said Francona. "He almost caught (Carlos) Santana's ball. I thought Abe (Almonte) should have had a productive day, but he came out of it empty. That kid goes left and right as good as you're going to see."

Santana tripled off the top of the center field wall in the third inning as Buxton just missed making a great catch. Almonte, the batter before Santana, drove a ball to left center that Buxton caught. In the fifth, Almonte lined another ball to right center that Buxton tracked down.

"He's as advertised," said Lindor. "You hit a ball in the air you better hope it's nowhere near him because he's going to get it."


Stop in the name of Yan: Catcher Yan Gomes threw out Minnesota's Brian Dozier twice on attempted steals of second base Saturday. Gomes caught Dozier in the third and the seventh innings. Each time Dozier was the third out.

Gomes is 9-for-18 (50 percent) throwing out base runners this season. Gomes and Roberto Perez are a combined 9-for-10 throwing out runners at Progressive Field this year.

Indians' catchers, according to InsideEdge, lead the big leagues in the percentage of base runners they're thrown out since the start of the 2016 season. Tribe catchers are 41-for-107 (38.3 percent) in that span.

Rally Squirrel: In the sixth inning, The Rally Squirrel made a rare appearance at Progressive Field. He came running onto the field from right field and delayed the game for 4:30.

"I thought it was kind of funny. I saw it coming and I was like, "The Rally Squirrel,'" said Lindor. "Then the guys behind home plate got scared and wouldn't open the door for the squirrel. It's cool. It's part of the game. It was a family atmosphere. Everybody enjoyed it.
Francisco Lindor, on the rogue squirrel at Progressive Field

"If we were winning, I bet someone would have jumped out of the dugout and tried to chase it down."

The squirrel was herded down the left field line. He jumped into the stands a disappeared over the Home Run Plaza.

[Michael Brantley was right not to try and “run out” an infield fly with one out. He had no way to know it would drop. Lay off him. ]

Seriously? Infield Fly? Batter is out no matter what. and all the runners leave at their risk, but must be tagged out.

Diaz living one dream, but hoping for another
Outfielder looking to see mom for first time in nearly five years
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | May 13th, 2017

CLEVELAND -- Yandy Diaz would have loved nothing more than to have his mom in the stands for his Major League debut. After all the sacrifices made in order for him to pursue his dream, the person who pushed Diaz to play baseball in the first place could not watch the game.

So, while Diaz took the field for the Indians on Opening Day in Texas, two staff members of the team recorded videos on their phones. Another person on the broadcast crew also pieced together a highlight package. Those clips were later sent to Diaz, who was able to pass them along to his mom, Elsa María Fernández, back home in Cuba.


"It was really hard for me to not be there in that moment by his side supporting him," said Fernández, who spoke via phone from Cuba in a conversation with MLB.com and Anna Bolton, the Indians' team translator. "It was really hard for me, because I was always there for all of his baseball career, and to not be there in such a beautiful moment was very difficult.

"But at the same time, I was really happy. In that moment, I felt that I was the proudest mom in the whole world."

After spending a couple weeks back with Triple-A Columbus, Diaz was called back to the Majors by Cleveland on Monday -- one day after his mom's birthday. The Indians rookie makes a point to call her about three times each week. He is looking forward to the day they can speak in person again. For now, every call requires a credit card payment that allows 15 minutes to talk for $10.

Asked how important his mom is to him, Diaz didn't hesitate.

"Todo. Todo. Todo," he said.

Everything.

For Fernández, her weekly talks with her son bring a mixture of emotions.

"It's been almost five years that I haven't seen my boy," said Fernández, fighting back tears. "There are moments that I can't even talk to him and he tells me, 'Mamá, don't cry. Don't cry.' But, I feel a lot of excitement and pain at the same time."

When Diaz -- an only child -- was young, he would often hang around with older kids. He typically had some sort of ball in tow, though he was mostly drawn to soccer and basketball. As Diaz got older, Fernández steered him toward baseball. His father, Jorge, had been a baseball star in Cuba. Fernández thought Diaz could follow in his footsteps.

He listened to his mom, began playing for his school's team when he was around eight years old and quickly fell in love with the sport.

"I didn't even like baseball at the beginning," Diaz said with a smile. "She's the one who convinced me to start playing baseball, and it's my whole life now."

As is the case for many Cuban kids, that passion for baseball led to a difficult decision. Diaz knew he would need to leave his country -- and his mom -- in order to pursue his dream of playing in the big leagues. He tried to flee twice, but was caught and jailed for 21 days each time. In 2013, when Diaz was 21, he attempted a third escape. His mom was supportive.

The last time Diaz saw his mom was in a Cuban hospital, at the side of his grandmother, who passed away a couple weeks later following a battle with cancer.

"It was really hard," Diaz said. "At first, she didn't agree with my decision, because I'm the only child and she didn't want to be alone. She said that she was going to miss me. But, over time, she kind of changed her mind and agreed with me and supported me about my decision."

On the third try, the group Diaz joined -- including his friend and current Indians Minor Leaguer Leandro Linares -- was successful. They used a motorized raft to travel from Cuba's eastern coast to Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic. After the 12-hour journey, which included sharks appearing near the raft, one of the people who helped Diaz got his mom on the phone.

"He gave me his phone to talk to her," Diaz said.

Asked if it was an emotional discussion, Diaz only nodded.

That call was a moment Fernández will never forget.

"He's my life. My reason for living. Everything I do is for him," she said. "When he got to land in the Dominican, I felt a great relief, because he was alive and he made it. But, the pain. There was pain. There was excitement. I don't have words to explain this moment in Yandy's and my life. I don't have words, because it was all of this combined."

Diaz is looking forward to the day when that pain goes away, a day when he can embrace his mom again.

"Little by little, I'm trying to bring her here," he said. "I need her. I need her by my side."

Zimmer's splits:

vs LHP 323/389/581 K pct 303
vs RHP 284/364/516 K pct 308

last year he was far worse against lefties, but not any prior years and not this year.

Encarnacion isn't the Indians' only problem, just the most expensive -- Bud Shaw's Sports Spin


CLEVELAND, Ohio - On a beautiful day for baseball, the sunniest possible take on the gloom and doom that follows Edwin Encarnacion's plate appearances is this: given what we've seen in April and May, he can't possibly have a June Swoon.

Feel better? Didn't think so.

That's not enough to calm the anxiety felt by Indians fans (and perhaps even ownership) over Encarnacion's lack of production after signing a $60 million contract.

A June Boom is required to quiet the concern. We just so happen to have a recent example for your perusal from last summer in Toronto, a season that ended with Encarnacion hitting 42 homers and driving in 127 runs.

After a slow-ish start in April, Encarnacion batted .308 in June, hit 11 home runs and knocked in 30 runs in 26 games.

For this to happen again, he will, of course, need to get the bat off his shoulders in big situations. Twice Wednesday he took called third strikes, once with the bases loaded in the third on a pitch that appeared outside, and again with a runner on second in the fifth.

That was his 48th strikeout of the season and gave him a subterranean average with runners in scoring position. The bookends to those Ks: a grounder to second and a walk.

That third inning framed Encarnacion's struggles and the fan base's worries. Carlos Santana, batting cleanup, tried to dodge an inside pitch from Tampa starter Alex Cobb. With two outs Santana was awarded first base after a replay review, moving Jason Kipnis to third and Michael Brantley to second.

There may come a time this summer when taking the bat out of Santana's hands and bringing Encarnacion to the plate with the bases loaded will conjure the theme from "Jaws" for the opposing pitcher.

That time isn't May. And it wasn't April. Encarnacion took a borderline pitch for strike three. Boos followed.

"Edwin is OK," Francona told reporters following the 7-4 loss. "He knows what's going on and what he's supposed to do.

"He's OK and he's going to be OK. It just hasn't been the best six weeks and he knows that. He'll get it."

The Indians are 20-19 but their fans know them as the team that improbably made the World Series and lost Game 7 in extra innings.

The rotation carries the league's highest ERA, but Corey Kluber is on the DL and the bullpen is terrific. Just last year the Indians managed to overcome injuries and still handle Boston and Toronto in the postseason.

Encarnacion has a longer track record than the 2016 Indians and their relief wizardry. He's been a good hitter for a good long time. But he hasn't done it here. Fairly or not, that and his contract make him the focus of the Indians' problems.

He's capable of putting together a good month and building a good season on top of that. He's done it a bunch of times. We just haven't witnessed it.

So you wait. In the meantime, no one would turn their nose up at a good week either.

somewhere, not here I believe, I read an article about EE's strikeouts and walks. He's struck out something like 28% of his AB's this year. He's also walking more than ever in his career. Why?? Lost confidence in his swing? His reactions have slowed down dramatically?

Bradley Zimmer, 'The Machine,' is in good spot to help lukewarm Cleveland Indians get hot

Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com


CLEVELAND, Ohio - A baseball game is nine innings long. At the big-league level if it takes three hours to play, it's considered a short day at the ballpark.

The point is there is a lot of time for things to go right and wrong. And when most of them go wrong - as they did for the Indians on Wednesday afternoon in a 7-4 loss to the Rays -- there is almost always one good thing to carry from that game to the next.

Enter The Machine.

Rookie Bradley Zimmer, a 6-5, 220-pound center fielder, played his second big league game on Wednesday for the Indians. The first one took place on Tuesday and did not go well. Zimmer batted three times out of the No.9 spot and went down swinging each time.

Expect to see a lot of that. The good thing is that the expectations run both ways.

In Zimmer's first at-bat Wednesday, he doubled off the left field wall to score Lonnie Chisenhall on a 2-1, 90 mph cut fastball from Alex Cobb. No fuss, no muss. First big-league hit and RBI all in one swing.

Jason Kipnis, with one out, singled to left and Zimmer showed his speed as he scored on a headfirst slide just ahead of a good throw by left fielder Corey Dickerson. First hit, RBI and run in all one inning. That's a good day right there for any rookie, but there was more.


In the ninth, Zimmer pulled a 89 mph cut fastball from Rays closer Alex Colome over the right field wall for his first homer. He looked for his mother and father in the stands as he crossed home plate, but couldn't find them.

But they were there. They flew cross country from California to see Tuesday's night's game after Zimmer found out late Monday night that he was being promoted from Class AAA Columbus. Tuesday night they were caught in limbo, happy for their son's promotion, but hurting inside because it didn't go better. Wednesday was a celebration.

"It was like night and day," said Zimmer.

The Indians made Zimmer their No.1 pick in 2014. He's a left-handed hitter with power, speed and a reworked swing that will hopefully curtail his strikeouts -- 43 in 126 at-bats at Columbus this year and 171 in 468 at-bats last year at Columbus and Class AA Akron.

"We call him The Machine," said Josh Tomlin, who did not pitch well in Wednesday's loss. "He's built like aachine. He's huge. He's athletic. He flies. He plays good defense and swings the bat well.

"He comes right up here and fits right into that lineup. He did a good job. I know he had a little bit of a rough day on Tuesday, but that's to be expected. There were probably butterflies and stuff like that."

Terry Francona is a glass half-full manager. If the Indians lose, he tries to find something positive to hang onto until tomorrow.

"It's nice to see," said Francona, regarding Zimmer. "It is a loss, but it's still nice to see that because you want to take anything positive you can and I'm sure that he feels a heck of a lot better today than he did yesterday."

After the game the questions from reporters were all the good kind for a rookie. He said his parents were going to get the balls from his first big league hits. But who gets the home-run ball?

"I feel like I have to give the homer to my mom," said Zimmer.

What did it cost him in negotiations from the fan to retrieve the home-run ball that traveled an estimated 397 feet?
We call him The Machine. He's built like a machine. He's huge. He's athletic. He flies.

"A signed bat and a signed ball. Good deal," said Zimmer. "He is a big fan and he has been asking for a bat for a while."

Apparently, the fan was promoted to the big leagues at the same time as Zimmer. Not only that he had a pretty good idea when and where Zimmer was going to hit his first homer. Maybe the Indians should make him a scout.

Thursday was an off day for the Indians. They'll board a charter flight and fly to Houston to open a three-game series against the powerful Astros, who have won nine of their last 10 games, on Friday night. Zimmer's big-league career, no matter where it goes from here, is under way.

He's in a good spot. Center field has a help wanted sign hanging on it. Chisenhall did OK there, but he's clearly more comfortable in right field. Tyler Naquin opened the season in center, but if the Indians thought he was the answer, they wouldn't have optioned him to Columbus on April 13. Now he's on the disabled list with a sore back. Austin Jackson, if and when he comes off the disabled list, offers a right-handed platoon option for Zimmer.

When the season started, Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, said for the Indians to make another run deep into October they needed their established players to do well. He added that they needed to get help from unexpected sources. The kind of help Jose Ramirez, Mike Napoli, Rajai Davis, Naquin, Dan Otero, Brandon Guyer, Coco Crisp and so many others supplied to last year's American League champions.

When this season started it's hard to say Zimmer was on the Indians' radar even though he had a great spring with the big-league club. The feeling from the front office to the coaching staff was that he needed more time at Triple-A.

The course of a season, along with a player's performance, has a way of changing time tables. The Indians are 20-19, their top two pitchers are hurt and their new cleanup hitter has struggled since opening day. After a good April, Michael Brantley has one RBI in May, Kipnis is just now starting to produce after opening the year on the disabled list and the 2016 RBI magic of Ramirez's bat is returning to normal standards. If Zimmer can help, the job should be his for the taking.

Bradley Zimmer is the Cleveland Indians' top prospect, the 19th-best prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com. The Indians didn't give him a chance to compete for a job this spring, but with three outfielders on the disabled list, they called Zimmer up Tuesday for his major league debut.

Exciting day. Great to see a talented young guy break in. And Zimmer is young, just 24 years old.
Bryce Harper is older than him. Barely. By 42 days. Zimmer played his first major league game Tuesday. Harper played his 692nd.

It's nothing against Zimmer, whose career went through a fairly normal progression from the time the Indians took him in the first round of the 2014 draft out of the University of San Francisco (when Harper was already a two-time All-Star). Nothing against New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who might well be the American League's Rookie of the Year but is definitely almost six months older than Harper.

It's Harper, the Washington Nationals outfielder, who is the outlier here. He's been around so long that we barely notice a game like the one he had for the Nationals on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. He had two hits (for the
195th time in his career and the 16th time in 35 games this season). He homered, for the 134th time in his career and the 13th time this season.

We should notice, because as good as Harper was in his 2015 Most Valuable Player season—his 198 OPS+, as calculated by Baseball-Reference.com, was a level basically only reached by Hall of Famers and Barry Bonds—he's off to an even better start this year.

His OPS+ through his first 35 games this season: 224, a level reached only by Bonds, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.
If you want to talk about Mike Trout, yes, Trout's 2017 OPS+ is even higher than Harper's, at 233. Yes, Trout has more MVPs, two, and fewer subpar seasons, none. He's a year older, but he has done spectacular things at a young age, too.

The focus here is on Harper because he's the one who is as young or younger than a few prominent rookies. He's also the one who was coming off a subpar 2016 season, which we can pretty much now say was caused by an injury he didn't want to talk about.
When Harper started off strong in spring training, we suggested paying attention to him this year. If he was as healthy as the early reports suggested, he was going to have a good campaign.

He's having a great season, or at least a great first six weeks. He's leading the National League in hitting (.388), one off the lead league in home runs (13), leading the league in runs scored (42), two behind teammate Ryan Zimmerman for the lead in RBI (36) and leading in OPS (1.271). Every one of those numbers is better than where he was at the same point in his MVP season.

The number we can only guess at is the one on the contract Harper signs after next season. He's already agreed to play for $21.65 million in 2018, in his final arbitration year. But, unlike Trout, whose six-year, $144.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels delayed his free-agent eligibility by at least three years, Harper is set to hit the market just after his 26th birthday.

No one does that. Almost no one, anyway. Manny Machado can be a free agent after next season, too. He'll also be 26, although he's a few months older than Harper. Machado, in fact, is one of the stars MLB put together in this tweet, just to remind everyone how young Harper is:

He's younger than five of the eight guys who have won Rookie of the Year awards since Harper himself won it in 2012. He's younger than Judge, who might well win this year.

We feel like we've been watching Harper forever, because he was just 16 when Tom Verducci wrote about him in that 2009 Sports Illustrated cover story titled "Baseball's LeBron." "You don't know him," Verducci wrote, and it was true then. You know him now. You feel like you've known him forever.

And he's still so young he could be a rookie.