Indians’ top pick Chisenhall hopes his bad decisions remain in past

By Pete Mollica

NILES — Lonnie Chisenhall grew up rooting for the Indians.

That was the Kinston Indians of the Class A Carolina League.

Chisenhall, who last week was the Cleveland Indians’ No. 1 pick in the annual Major League Baseball draft, grew up just a few miles from the Kinston, N.C., stadium and went to many of the team’s games as a youngster.

This week, he makes his professional debut with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, who open the season tonight at 7:05 against the Williamsport Crosscutters at Eastwood Field.

The 6-1, 200-pound infielder lives in Newport, N.C. and was the 29th selection in this year’s draft out of Pitt (N.C.) Community College.

Chisenhall started his collegiate career at the University of South Carolina, but in March 2007 he was kicked off the team after he was arrested and charged with burglary and grand larceny. He pleaded guilty to the charges and received six months probation.

“I made some bad decisions, but I’ve paid for those decisions and now I’m ready to get on with my baseball career,” Chisenhall said Monday at the Scrappers annual media day.

The 19-year-old is excited to get started and couldn’t wait to start playing again.

“I’ve been sitting around now for a couple of months just waiting for the draft and now I can’t wait to get back into action,” Chisenhall said.

“I’ve always been an Indians fan, as has my entire family and to be drafted by them, especially in the first round, was like a dream come true,” he said.

Chisenhall played shortstop and third base. The Indians are planning to make a third baseman out of him.

“I love playing shortstop because you are right there in the middle of things in the infield, but I have no problems with third base either,” Chisenhall said. “In fact, I played there most of this past season.”

Chisenhall, who signed with the Indians for $1.2 million, is a disciplined hitter with the potential to develop power. He batted .410 with eight homers and 27 doubles along with 66 RBIs last season at Pitt.

His first professional manager will be Travis Fryman, who also played third base and shortstop during a 13-year major league career and is excited about coaching Chisenhall.

“You know what I really like about him is the fact that he’s 19 years old and he plays both shortstop and third base and he seems like a great kid who is ready to learn everything he can about the game,” Fryman said.

Chisenhall doesn’t foresee any problems moving from the aluminum bats in college to the wooden bats in professional baseball.

“For the past couple of years I’ve been taking all my batting practice with the wooden bats,” he said. “Although I’ve never played in any wooden bat leagues, I have played in a few games, but I don’t see that as a problem. You still have to get the barrel on the ball whatever kind of bat that you use.”

The Scrappers are opening a three-game homestand and will play again Wednesday and Thursday at Eastwood Field also at 7:05 p.m.

mollica@vindy.com