Usf Alum Bradley Zimmer Succeeds By Being Himself With Indians

USF alum Bradley Zimmer succeeds by being himself with Indians Two months into his big-league career, Cleveland’s Bradley Zimmer has learned one key adjustment to playing in the majors: avoid the temptation of making wholesale adjustments. Zimmer is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound outfielder from USF who hits left-handed and throws right-handed. The Indians’ 2014 first-round pick received “who you are is plenty good enough” advice during his freshman season with the Dons from head coach Nino Giarratano. After hitting .242 with no homers as a freshman, Zimmer improved to .320 with seven HRs as a sophomore and .368 and another seven long balls as a junior. The Indians got swept in a three-game series in Oakland over the weekend and open this week with three games at AT&T Park. The extended Bay Area stay has enabled Zimmer to see some of his friends and former teammates from the Hilltop. San Francisco selected Nico, an infielder, in the 24th round of last month’s draft. During a phone interview, Nino Giarratano recalled he could envision Zimmer becoming a big-leaguer probably from the very first day that I saw him. The tool set really just kind of jumped out at you: Giarratano referred to two moments that encapsulate Zimmer’s career at USF, each of which came at old Benedetti Diamond: a back-to-the-plate, leaping catch on which he crashed into the base of the center-field fence and a 280-foot line drive to left that Zimmer turned into a triple. When he rounded second base and was heading to third,” Giarratano said, “your jaw just dropped and you’re like, ‘Nobody hits a triple at 280 feet,’ but Bradley could do that. In the opener, he raced into right-center to make a diving grab of a Mikie Mahtook liner. In the second game, Zimmer robbed Mahtook again, this time with a full-extension, backhanded catch in deep left-center. Francona tried to walk that fine line of extolling Zimmer’s potential without adding undue expectations. Zimmer played one season at USF with his brother Kyle, a pitcher whom the Royals selected in the first round in 2012. Injuries have sidetracked Kyle’s pro career — he has a 7.52 ERA in 11 outings with Triple-A Omaha this season — but he remains one of his younger brother’s biggest backers. The three games in Oakland certainly didn’t make Bradley happy. Not only did Cleveland get swept, but also he went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts (and two walks). Chalk up that series to Bradley Zimmer’s continuing education at the big-league level. Steve Kroner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Nino Giarratano became USF’s head coach before the 1999 season. Cleveland’s Bradley Zimmer is the fourth man to play for Giarratano to make it to the big leagues: .179, 2 HRs for Marlins, Angels (2010-13) .274, 5 HRs as rookie for Indians