Lonnie Chisenhall On Fire in Double-A

The 2008 and 2009 drafts for the Cleveland Indians keep looking better by the day. Sure, everyone is excited about ’09 top selection Stephen Strasburg and the yet-to-be-signed first pick in the 2010 draft in Bryce Harper, but the Indians have themselves quite a load as well.

From last year’s draft, starter Alex White is dominating through five games in Double-A while Jason Kipnis (second round) and Jordan Henry (seventh round) were recently promoted to Akron as well.

Meanwhile, Lonnie Chisenhall, Cleveland’s first-round pick in the ’08 draft out of Pitt Community College, has revitalized himself recently as one of the top hitting prospects in the minor leagues.

Since returning from a nagging right shoulder injury on May 28th, the 21-year-old Chisenhall has been the offensive leader for the now red-hot Aeros. Both Chisenhall and the team struggled to start the season, but Chisenhall is currently tearing up the Eastern League and showcasing why the Indians selected him 29th overall two years ago.

After a slow start to the season coupled with a nagging right shoulder injury, Chisenhall was batting only .261 at the time with a .641 OPS through May 12th. He then missed 14 straight games for the team and the shoulder injury was such a nuisance that he didn’t play his usual third base from May 2nd until June 4th.

”I don’t think it physically was limiting his swing or he’d have told us that,” Ross Atkins, Cleveland’s director of player development, said recently to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal . ”I don’t think he’s an excuse maker, but there’s no question it’s more draining to come to the park every day wondering whether or not you can throw or play third. Certainly it could have impacted his performance as a hitter and his routine. Whether or not it did is hard for me to say. It very well could’ve just been a lull in performance.”

Since returning, Chisenhall has an impressive .351 (20-57) batting average, currently has an eight-game hitting streak and has reached base in all 15 games with an absolutely loaded stat line. He has recorded three doubles, five home runs, 15 runs scored, 17 RBI, seven walks and an unbelievable 1.141 OPS now since May 28th.

The team has also jumped into contention in the Western Division of the Eastern League. The Aeros had a measly 13-20 record after a doubleheader on May 12th and then went 6-8 in the games Chisenhall missed during the middle of that month before zooming back up to .500.

Akron just recently broke a franchise-record with their 12th straight win before finally losing to the Portland Sea Dogs Sunday at Canal Park. That makes the team 13-3 since Chisenhall was activated from the disabled list and returned to the everyday starting lineup.

He is now destroying Eastern League pitching much like Carlos Santana (’09 EL MVP), Jordan Brown (’07 EL MVP) and Victor Martinez (’02 EL MVP) before him. His production also resembles the hype Baseball America expected when they named him the second-best prospect in the Indians organization prior to this season.

“I am feeling confident,” Chisenhall said in an interview this week with Ryan Isley of Sports Radio Cleveland. “I have been hitting the ball hard, the team has been winning and everything seems to be going in the right direction.”

Chisenhall is the youngest player on the current Aeros roster and he struggled during his brief regular season introduction to Double-A last year, batting just .183 in 24 games played. At the time of his promotion to the team on August 8th, he was second in the Class A Carolina League in hits (107), RBI (79), home runs (18) and runs.

He battled back in the playoffs and showed that offensive potential again, leading Akron with a .467 (14-30) batting average and seven runs scored in seven contests. Teammate Jerad Head won EL Playoffs MVP but Chisenhall’s performance was an added boost for the franchise that has now won three championships in seven years.

The two-time North Carolina all-state performer out of high school was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 11th round of the 2006 draft. He decided to attend college instead, spending one season at the University of South Carolina before transitioning to Pitt Community College in Greenville, NC.

(Top photo above via Ken Carr/Akron Aeros and head shot via AkronAeros.com)