I for one was happy to see Escobar break out this year.  I am somewhat skeptical of him improving on what he did this year and actually believe he is more likely to regress a bit.  A small regression still makes him an above average middle IF.  My personal preference is to use him as the "10th starter" with Santana at SS for next year and Hicks in CF.  If Hicks doesn't take hold of CF then maybe we put Santana back in CF as a placeholder until Buxton makes it up.  As a 10th starter we can sit him against the better LHP.  Whatever the Twins decide to do, Escobar has made himself into a valuable member of the team. 

I was rooting for the Eddie400 all season long and was happy to see it come to pass. I don't know that SanDana can handle SS at the MLB level. That was the knock on him coming into 2014, and he didn't get many reps there after his promotion. I still don't know if he can do it. He has work to do offensively, as well. But this isn't about Sandana, this is about Eddie. What a great season.

I too have doubts about his XBH potential going forward, and that lack of walks could be an issue, but he's young, and he made significant improvements in 2014. I think he'll do the same in 2015, all while holding down SS for the Twins.

I don't know why Eduardo Nunez was given reps at SS over Eddie400. Maybe Gardy got them confused. Both could be servicable utilitiy guys, but I like Escobar over Nunez everyday.

Physics guy--there is zero reason to sit Escobar against left handers.  He was a better hitter against lefties than Plouffe, Dozier, or Santana.  He was a far superior alternative to Mauer and Arcia against southpaws.

Escobar beat my modest expectations by a mile and further shows why we should continue to believe in Terry Ryan.  He did show some line drive ability last year so while 35 2Bs is high for anyone with that few ABs in a season I do have confidence he will hit 2Bs at a better than average rate.  his batting line this year is Mauer lite.  Mauers line without the walks. 

For next year, I am fine with him at SS while Santana holds down CF for a bit.  Though he is a good candidate to be included in a trade package for a starting pitcher.  Both the Mets and Cincinnati have pitchers to trade and a need at SS.  I personally like Niese as he is a LHP with 2 years and 2 options years on a contract at a reasonable price.  maybe add in a reliever or minor leaguer to balance this out.....

Physics guy--there is zero reason to sit Escobar against left handers.  He was a better hitter against lefties than Plouffe, Dozier, or Santana.  He was a far superior alternative to Mauer and Arcia against southpaws.

Yep, misread what you wrote.  He struggled more as a lefthanded hitter, which would be against RHP.  He should sit against the better RHP.  The problem is we don't really have a good LHB to sub in for him.  It's too bad Hicks has the same platoon problem that Esco has.  Otherwise maybe a Santana at CF/SS and Esco/Hicks platoon would be a short-term answer.  The problem is, I wouldn't want someboy regularly switching off between SS and CF.  Doesn't seem too great for development.

Since you mentioned it for Escobar, I looked up some numbers for a few other pertinent players.  Santana was good from both sides of the plate, although slightly better as a lefty.  Escobar was much better as a righty.  Plouffe has improved his platoon splits and is no longer a liability vs RHP.  The one that shocked me was Hicks.  I knew he was much better from the right side, but this is crazy:

vs RHP  .178 BA/.300 OBP/.212 SLG

vs LHP  .279 BA/.410 OBP/.382 SLG

I could see some regression for Escobar for certain. On the other hand, more experience could see improvement in his splits as well. He is no power hitter, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the strength in his line drives when making decent contact. I don't think he is just a Punch and Judy hitter who got lucky. He was a huge and pleasant surprise to be sure. And if it weren't for Santana, I think we'd all revel in Escobar's season even more than we have. And he's done absolutely nothing to warrant a loss of a starting position, unless his regression was rather drastic.

But Escobar does have a strike against him, and that's Santana. Santana is simply a better athlete, with even more range and dynamic ability, at least potentially. And it's the same at the plate as in the field, Santana is just more dynamic offensively as well.

Ultimately, I think Escobar does become that 10th starter, and still plays a lot.

Agree that Escobar really doesn't deserve to lose a starting spot, but this sort of thing happens.  I still believe Hicks has a higher ceiling than Escobar (but also a lower floor) and I think the defense with Hicks in CF and Santana at SS is better than Santana in CF and Esco at SS.  Plus having Esco as the utility IF makes us stronger defensively.  I could very easily see either scenario happening in April.  I think the 10th starter role is a great spot for him.