27-year old righty swinging Jason Donald was going to be the Indians’ starting 3B this year but he broke his hand in spring training.  He then spent a big chunk of the season in the minors before getting called up.  Donald is making up for lost time now.  He has played in 37 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 41 for 128 (.320 avg, .769 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Donald has now played in 125 games in his first two years with the Tribe and he is 116 for 424 (.274 avg, .714 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 5 homers, 30 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Donald is going to make the Indians in 2012, likely as a utility man.

Jack Hannahan has been injured most of September, which has given 22-year old rookie 3B Lonnie Chisenhall the chance to play everyday and he has been outstanding so far this month.  Chisenhall has played in 13 games so far this month for the Indians and he is 13 for 49 (.265 avg, .816 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 9 RBIs.  He has now played in 56 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 43 of 175 (.246 avg, .702 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 7 homers, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  One thing the Indians will want Chisenhall to work on over the winter is his plate discipline, as he has walked only 6 times so far this year while whiffing 39 times.  If he finishes the last couple of weeks strongly, I think he will be penciled in as the starting 3B when spring training opens next February.

31-year old righty swinging LF/1B Shelley Duncan is officially on fire with the bat for the Cleveland Indians.  He has played in 9 games so far in September and he is 10 for 31 (.323 avg, 1.235 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 5 homers and 10 RBIs.  Duncan has now played in 59 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 46 for 171 (.269 avg, .820 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 9 homers and 34 RBIs.  Maybe the Indians should have started playing Duncan a lot more earlier this year.

26-year old righty swinging 2B/SS/3B Jason Donald has really played pretty well for the Tribe since he has been called up.  Donald has played in 23 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 24 of 81 (.296 avg, .761 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 5 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  He has now played in 111 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 99 for 377 (.263 avg, .705 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 5 homers, 29 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Donald’s versatility and bat will likely be a big asset to the Indians in the future.

31-year old lefty swinging 3B Jack Hannahan has been hot with the bat so far in August.  He has played in 15 games so far in August and he is 15 for 39 (.385 avg, .940 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 8 RBIs.  Hannahan will likely continue to play more than rookie Lonnie Chisenhall, as long as he stays hot with the stick.  Hannahan has played in 97 games overall this year for the Indians and he is 67 for 282 (.238 avg, .679 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 5 homers, 31 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He is also a wizard with the glove, which somewhat makes up for his lack of hitting.