GOODYEAR, Ariz. — He’s been the biggest story for the Indians this spring and he is all but certain to begin the 2011 season in the minor leagues.
He is Lonnie Chisenhall.
Chisenhall, who has replaced catcher Carlos Santana as Cleveland’s top prospect, has been impressive through eight exhibition games, displaying the sweet stroke that put him on the Indians’ radar shortly after they selected him in the first round (29th overall) of the 2008 draft.
The 21-year-old North Carolina native is hitting .550 (11-for-20) with two doubles, two home runs, a triple and two RBIs after a 4-for-5 performance Tuesday in a 16-5 loss to the Diamondbacks at Goodyear Ballpark.
“He can hit,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “We like him. We love him. He’s going to be part of our team at some point.”
Offense has rarely been an issue for Chisenhall.
In his only two full seasons in the minor leagues the past two years, Chisenhall has hit no worse than .276, while averaging 17.5 home runs and 81.5 RBIs. He hit .278 in 111 games for Double-A Akron in 2010 with his 84 RBIs leading Cleveland’s minor league system. His homer (17) and run (81) totals ranked third among Indians minor leaguers.
With a bat in his hand, Chisenhall is a big leaguer. It’s when he puts a glove on the hand that he still looks like a player more suited for Triple-A, which is where is expected to being 2011.
In his first professional season in 2008, Chisenhall committed 16 errors in 68 games. He followed that up with a combined 39 errors in 216 games over the past two seasons after relocating from shortstop to third base.
It’s no surprise that Chisenhall is focusing on fielding this spring.
“I’m trying to improve mostly on being a good defender,” he said. “With our pitching staff, they get a ton of ground balls. You need to be a good defender, and I have to keep swinging the bat.”
With Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop and veteran Orlando Cabrera manning second, Chisenhall’s quickest path to Cleveland is at third base, where the Indians are without a strong candidate to open the season at the position.
The conversion is still a work in progress but Chisenhall thinks he is adapting to his new surroundings adequately.
“I’ve had two full seasons there,” Chisenhall said. “I feel comfortable. Every day I go out there, I feel more comfortable.”
Chisenhall isn’t totally forgetting about offense this exhibition season, as evidenced by his gaudy numbers. And though it is his strong suit, he is far from a finished product at the plate.
“This year I’m working on being more consistent, especially against lefties,” said Chisenhall, who hit just .234 against left-handed pitching last year. “I had a rough time against lefties last year, so I want to have a better approach against them.”
It doesn’t matter how impressive he is this spring, though. Barring an injury, he will start the season in the minors. Acta said Chisenhall is not in camp to compete for a job on the big league level, which was confirmed when Chisenhall met with general manager Chris Antonetti prior to the start of camp.
“Basically that I have stuff to work on,” Chisenhall said, when asked what Antonetti told him. “At some point in the future I’ll be ready to help the team, but I need to go down and define my game so that I can compete on the major league level.
“It’s exciting, knowing that you are part of their plans and they look forward to you being there.”
Tribe fans are already clamoring for Chisenhall’s arrival, but he isn’t getting ahead of himself.
“I’m patient to a point,” Chisenhall said. “You get close to the major leagues and you feel like you should be there, but sometimes you don’t see the small things that other people see.
“I’m not ready to go yet.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
