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Is Yunel Ready?
Written by Colin on January 21, 2008 – 10:52 amI get this question a lot when discussing the NL East with other NL East fans – Is Yunel Escobar ready to start at shortstop? We all know the Braves think so – they traded Edgar Renteria away to start the off-season. So is Yunel going to perform at a major league level?
Well only time can tell us for sure, but I see limited reason to worry about him. Why? To start, he has the confidence of not only the Braves front office, but his coaches and teammates. After coming up in June and watching his steady contribution to the team – including the 18 game stretch Edgar Renteria was injured near the end of the season – his teammates have nothing but good things to say about his play. Teixeira praised him as a great competitor and as a player who would be good at filling in Renteria’s shoes. Terry Pendleton praised him as “a player” and “special.”
But let’s look beyond the praise garnered by Escobar from his teammates. Since coming up in June, Escobar posted a .326 BA, 5 HRs, a .385 OBP, and a .451 SLG%. He was 20-60 with runners in scoring position (.333). In August, when he played during Renteria’s absence, he hit .352. Yeah, you say that all rookies hit well when they first come up because nobody has scouted them. But Escobar hit strongly and consistently through the end of the season after coming up towards the beginning of the season in June. Offensively, I think he’ll continue to improve as a strong young hitter.
Defensively the guy has range. Some say he has more range than Renteria did – the guy has speed for sure. In 53 games at shortstop, he had a fielding percentage of .977 fielding percentage – in fact equal to Renteria’s fielding percentage in 121 games.
I think the X-Factor for this guy is his enthusiasm. Anyone who saw him play saw his enthusiasm – always running, always grinning. Jumping as high as he could before his at-bats and obviously enjoying himself.
Yunel is ready for a full-time job. I think he’ll prove himself as a speedy shortstop who loves the game and plays his heart out. Worst case, he gets injured and we bring some young guy named Brent Lillibridge.
Posted in General | 7 Comments »
By shane thompson on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
I agree 100% about Yunel. I believe that he will be one of the best short stops that the Braves have had in a long time( not to belittle Renteria in any way). He is young athletic, fast, can hit and plays the game like it should be with a amile on his face and having fun, like we all use too wehn we played little league
By Kenny on Jan 21, 2008 | Reply
I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first about Yunel.After seeing him play a few games,I believe he’s more than ready.Though I hate to see a player like Edgar leave,having Yunel takes the sting out.The kid can play,and like Shane above said,he play the game like it was meant to be played.You can tell he really appreciates and enjoys being here.Lord knows the game as a whole could use more players like him around.
By Jonathan on Jan 22, 2008 | Reply
I think he is ready to be the starter but I don’t think he’s a star. He should be a solid regular with good gap power and should hit in the .285-.300 range and play average or a tick above average defense. He won’t hurt anybody with his power or legs but could give the Braves 10 homers and 10 steals each year. I think Lillibridge is the better of the two though. Lillibridge has the same power but is a better athlete and has better plate discipline and speed. But Escobar is a better bet to stick.
By Nicole on Jan 27, 2008 | Reply
I think that he is ready. I loved watching him play during the games I went to. Edgar is definitely still one of my favorite players, so I was not too happy with him being on the DL for so long. I don’t really like change. But, I quickly changed my mind after watching him get pumped and the way he played defensively….but I am not comfortable saying that he is the best
By Kenny on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first about Yunel.After seeing him play a few games,I believe he's more than ready.Though I hate to see a player like Edgar leave,having Yunel takes the sting out.The kid can play,and like Shane above said,he play the game like it was meant to be played.You can tell he really appreciates and enjoys being here.Lord knows the game as a whole could use more players like him around.
By Jonathan on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
I think he is ready to be the starter but I don't think he's a star. He should be a solid regular with good gap power and should hit in the .285-.300 range and play average or a tick above average defense. He won't hurt anybody with his power or legs but could give the Braves 10 homers and 10 steals each year. I think Lillibridge is the better of the two though. Lillibridge has the same power but is a better athlete and has better plate discipline and speed. But Escobar is a better bet to stick.
By Nicole on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply
I think that he is ready. I loved watching him play during the games I went to. Edgar is definitely still one of my favorite players, so I was not too happy with him being on the DL for so long. I don't really like change. But, I quickly changed my mind after watching him get pumped and the way he played defensively….but I am not comfortable saying that he is the best