Cleveland Indians: Three Players Ready for a Big June

Lonnie Chisenhall

The final player on our countdown is Lonnie Chisenhall. A former third baseman, Chisenhall is now the Cleveland Indians’ primary right fielder after transitioning from the hot corner last season. There have always been high expectations for the left-handed batter, especially since he is a former first-round pick. 

After the Indians selected him 29^th overall in 2008, Chisenhall wasted no time to show off his talent; and by the end of his second season, he had reached Double-A. It took just three years for the then third baseman to reach the major leagues, but it took much longer for him to become a contributor with the Cleveland Indians. He spent several years bouncing back and forth between Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus, but he managed to win the starting third base job out of Spring Training in 2014.

Although Chisenhall proved his worth as a batter in 2014, he failed to prove himself as a fielder. His defense became so bad that when his offense gave out in early 2015, the Indians converted him to an outfielder in the minor leagues. The move turned out to be a huge success, and Chisenhall returned to the big league stage to post a big second half last year. His talents also played out better in the outfield, with defensive metrics rating him as one of the best right fielders in the league.

This season has been a step back from last year, however. His .262 batting average pairs with declined power to make him a slightly below-average hitter. This said, my expected batting average formula feels that a .274 mark is fairer, and an improvement to that level would greatly improve his worth.

Another reason to believe in the right fielder is that, like the other picks in this post, he has traditionally played well in the month of June. In 234 career June plate appearances, he owns a .285 batting average and eight home runs. Of course, just two years ago he experienced a major power surge and smashed five long balls in 24 games. Combining this past success with a potential improvement in batted ball luck means that Lonnie Chisenhall is ready for a big month of June.

Next: Indians Were Right to Demote Naquin

Finally, some honorable mentions go to Danny Salazar and Corey Kluber. Salazar, as mentioned in the introduction, has been an absolute stud this season, and the Indians can certainly count on his continued greatness in June. This said, his home run rates do seem to be artificially low, and this combined with the spike in his walk rate could be a sign of regression.

Corey Kluber receives an honorable mention for almost the exact opposite reason. His fielding independent statistics and suggest that he deserves and earned run average in the low threes. The biggest knock on his likelihood of having a big June is that he has historically been mediocre in that month.