It looks like Benson, Nolan Jones, and Owen Miller are having their first taste of success at the major league level this season. We'll see if any of them can bust out and become stars or whether they will end up with careers like Tyler Naquin (.264/.765) and Lonnie Chisenhall (.268/.747), guys who had flashes but never put it all together.
Chisenhall is the guy who was the most unfortunate, IMO. He was drafted out of college as a shortstop and shifted to third base, but he always struggled with his defense and I'm sure it affected him at the plate. In 2015, at age 26, he hit .203 playing 3rd base (172 AB's). They put him in right field, a less demanding position where he could focus on hitting, and he hit .303/.790 in 142 AB's. It was night and day.
In 2016 he played all but 20 at-bats in right field, hitting .290/.784. In 2017 he battled injuries but still hit .310/.930 in right field, but in only 126 AB's. His last year, 2018, at age 29 he hit .325/.856 in 80 AB's in right field before recurring calf injuries ended his season and his career. The Pirates signed him for the 2019 season but he never got on the field again.
If the Guardians had moved Chisenhall to right field earlier and if his body hadn't let him down before he was 30 I think he could have had an outstanding career in Cleveland. He had a gorgeous swing but between his struggles to play 3rd base early and his calf injuries late he only had 3.5 seasons as a full-time right fielder, and he missed a lot of games with injuries in those years.
