I'm very happy with his production this year, but I'm not holding my breath that it's going to continue.  That OBP is pretty poor all things considered.  With little power and a history of poor OBP, it would seem that he will be extremely prone to inconsistancy.  Santana probably has the same issues, though perhaps more upside.  Both are probably just keeping the seat warm for Jorge Polanco who looks to have pretty strong OBP skills for a middle infielder.   

Escobar has been great this year and I really enjoy watching him play, but I don't think Eduardo Escobar is your starting short stop on a championship team. Ideally he's the utility man that the team can rely frequently throughout the season - but he's never a full time starter at any one spot.

 

That being said - keep it up Eddie. I'd love for you to prove me wrong.

Agree with Brock, Escobar is not in the mix, he's the guy.

 

Does he have to maintain? Yes. So far, he's done that. We have enough of a season, enough AB's to begin thinking he might be sustainable. Should Santana be out of the mix? No. He can still play it, might have a future there, even part time, so there's no reason not to let him continue taking infield and getting some starts there. But what Escobar has done this season is something we've all been waiting and hoping for since...since...Guzman left?

Well - if Escobar can be the starting SS from Opening Day to September in 2015, then I'd say he's doing the best since Guzman. The Twins have had some temporary luck with Shortstops  (renting Orlando Cabrera in 2010, Jason Bartlett 1.0) but no one that has played decently for more than one year since Guzman.  

 

Given that the Twins are really high on Santana as a SS, they might be pushing that revolving door again very soon. 

I don't wanna hate but I refuse to ignore the peripherals. He strikes out 3.5 times per walk, and his BABIP is still very high. In July when he had a .311 BABIP his line was .263/.300/.342. That's probably closer to his true talent IMO.

 

I think it's clear that Escobar is the guy next year but I would be surprised if he OPS'd over .650 and had an OBP over .300 next season.  He's a stop gap guy that is not awful.

As I said in the Santana thread, Escobar had a fantastic May at the plate.  Since then he has really come back to earth.  .245/.290/.356/.645 is his slash line since June 1 (59 games and 222 PA).  That is below average even at SS for a starter.  His defense has been ok but certainly not great.

 

Santana isn't an .800 OPS player that he is showing right now but his speed and range make him the better SS prospect, IMO.  Escobar is a utility player and has been all along.