Buy ‘Em or Deny ‘Em: Now In Pittsburgh, Could Lonnie Chisenhall Prove Valuable?

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

With Gregory Polanco potentially missing multiple months of the 2019 season following surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder and a labrum injury, it makes sense for the Pirates to look to add to their outfield mix.  They made a relatively under-the-radar addition recently, signing former Cleveland Indian Lonnie Chisenhall to a one-year contract.

Injuries have been a significant issue for Chisenhall in recent seasons, being limited to a total of 111 games over the past two years (and only once in his career has he appeared in more than 126 games).  When on the field he’s been relatively productive, especially against right-handed pitchers:

• RHP – .271/.321/.436
• LHP – .251/.313/.386

Those numbers against southpaws aren’t terrible and he hit .340 with 2 HR in 47 AB against them back in 2017.  It’s still likely that the Pirates envision deploying him as part of a committee, though it’s not a path they are going to be forced to take.

That said, while he’s always proven capable of making consistent contact (18.5% strikeout rate) and using the entire field (27.0% Oppo%), there are also some obvious limitations.  While he’s hit the ball harder in recent seasons, it has also come in relatively short sample sizes.  A career Hard% of 26.4% is a red flag, as his an inability to consistently draw walks (6.4%).  Those two issues stem from consistently chasing outside of the strike zone (38.5% O-Swing%), and at this point it’s hard to envision that changing.

Making contact is great, but if you aren’t swinging at good pitches and consistently making weak contact is it going to matter?

Chisenhall has always been seen as a player with upside potential, though a career .268 AVG and 9.1% HR/FB makes it hard to get overly excited.  It’s not like he’s moving to an extremely favorable ballpark and there’s a good chance he’s deployed in a platoon role early before potentially being limited to a reserve outfielder.  If you need an early season flier in deeper formats there could be value, but for most he’s easily ignored.

Source – Fangraphs

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