For the second breakdown of a position lets take a peak at the hot corner. Last season we were graced with a pleasant surprise in the form of Jack Hanahan. He started off in April extremely hot offensively, and produced a couple of Web Gems on a weekly basis. I can't remember the last time the Tribe had a legitimate 3rd baseman who had no liabilities defensively. Due to injuries, and a struggling offense, Hanahan was forced to the bench for top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall. Hanahan still made some starts at 3rd, and even at 1st the rest of the season. Chisenhall played well for a rookie, but you could tell there was a drop-off in defensive reliability and he was struggling to get comfortable in the batter's box. Now he did get drilled in the face early in his big league career which slowed him a bit, but in certain games you could see the flashes of his offensive potential. Then around the All-Star break Jason Donald finally got called up to play some spot starts. Donald did what he normal does and that is be a consistent presence both defensively and offensively from the right side of the plate. Jason Donald was supposed to start the year at 3rd, but when he suffered a Spring Training injury, that left the door open for Hanahan who was so hot in April that when Donald got healthy he was forced to back up Chisenhall in Columbus.
Fast forward to this season, like all positions on the Indians roster they added depth to the 3rd base competition to enter Spring Training. Those who were added was Russ Canzler(Tampa Bay), and Andy LaRoche (Pit, Atl, and Arizona), and Jose Lopez.
My projected Opening Day starters:
Jack Hanahan: I just think he gets the job out of the gate unless Jason Donald is just a lightning rod offensively in spring training. The Indians will be featuring 4 sinker ball pitchers out of their rotation this season, and with that you need to have some sound defense. Hanahan is the best of the 3rd base candidates, and as of now this isn't supposed to be one of the more productive offensive positions. If he hits above .230 and plays great defense, he should be starting....for now.
Off of the MLB bench: Jason Donald: He is right handed, and can play almost every position. Manny Acta tends to favor players he is familiar with, so while Andy LaRoche is the runner up, and maybe none of the backups make the team if Russ Canzler does, I think Donald has the best since he is versatile enough to do it all, and bat right-handed.
Lonnie Chisenhall: I think this kid has the stuff to be a future cornerstone of our infield, but he needs a bit more seasoning both defensively and offensively. Defensively he has a ways to go to catch up to Hannahan or at least get closer. And offensively, his exposure to the big leagues was good, because he was up long enough for his holes to be exposed. He can get everyday at-bats in AAA and work on those holes, once fixed then he could be like adding a hot bat come midseason.
Andy LaRoche and Jose Lopez: I think LaRoche makes the team in some capacity, even if it's to start in the minors. However something tells me that Lopez will not, and with little space on the AAA roster he may turn down his minor league contract. Depth is always a great problem to have, and veterans don't need the everyday AB's to contribute or improve. So I suspect that AAA is the home of Chisenhall and Canzler to start the year, as they will need the playing time and could be the corners during a post-season run in the bigs.
Minors to Watch:
Jared Goedert
Leonardo Castillo
That's all I got for 3rd Base projections. Let me know what you think.
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