Lonnie Chisenhall named ESPN SweetSpot blog's Defensive Player of the Month

ESPN's SweetSpot blog recognized Cleveland Indians right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall as their August Defensive Player of the Month. SweetSpot, which is ESPN's own SABR-slanted blog similar to SB Nation's Beyond the Box Score, cited Lonnie's ability to pick up routes, as well as his rocket arm which has translated well from his former position at third base as his best attributes. All of this is also coming without much experience at the position.

Chisenhall wins the award despite never having played right field in the major leagues before the past few days in July. He finished August with eight Defensive Runs Saved, showing skill both at catching fly balls and using his throwing arm to deter baserunners.

Also noted in the SweetSpot post is the fact that Lonnie is not as "flashy" of an outfielder that are usually awarded these type of honors every month. Despite that, he has been extremely consistent and shown that he is athletic as a baseball player, not just an athletic third baseman.

After only four games playing right field for Triple-A Columbus, Lonnie looked right at home in the corner outfield slot. There is not a whole lot you can draw out of stats after only a few weeks at a position, but anecdotally he has "passed the eye test" at least for me within his very first week. His career looked to be slowly slipping away at third base, but now that he has proven to be an asset in right field, he easily has a spot on the Indians next season, if not beyond.