Lost in the massive regression that was June is that the two Eduardos put up the following lines:

 

Nunez  .298/.339/.509/.847 in 57 AB's

Escobar  .271/.323/.508/.831 in 59 AB's

 

In that same month, Danny Santana put up this line in AAA Rochester:

 

Santana  .328/.354/.525/.879 in 61 AB's

 

I'm not saying that Escobar is going to put up a .831 OPS from now on, but he is the better defensive SS of the 3 and I think should be the regular SS for the time being.

 

My two cents worth.

 

 

 

 

Good point. The Escobar June line is the most important IMO. Even when you look at the whole season, he is hitting is fine for a SS (although obviously not for a corner outfielder) If Escobar had enough games at SS, among qualified SS he would be right in the middle of the pack in terms of wOBA (.290).

Edited July 2, 201511 yr by nytwinsfan

Yes, I'm a bit puzzled that Escobar hasn't gotten regular starts at shortstop. His defense was fine there last year and his hitting is okay for a shortstop. He hasn't regressed like Santana, Vargas, and (to a lesser degree) Arcia have this year. I would go with Rosario, Hicks, Hunter in the OF and keep Escobar at SS.

Yes, I'm a bit puzzled that Escobar hasn't gotten regular starts at shortstop. His defense was fine there last year and his hitting is okay for a shortstop. He hasn't regressed like Santana, Vargas, and (to a lesser degree) Arcia have this year. I would go with Rosario, Hicks, Hunter in the OF and keep Escobar at SS.

Concur

Given what Escobar did last year.....and Santana is doing this year? Escobar should be your SS in MN, Polanco in Rochester, and Santana in AA (or traded for whatever).

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/26/2649625d2abe63c7d66c958aa9c476dd6cae917da286a25713a7de36fef1ea0c.jpg

I hadn't looked up the stats but the moment Santana faltered, it seemed like a gimme decision to put Escobar at short.

Escobar still hasn't started three consecutive games at SS all year.

 

Maybe that will change, but at least so far it's pretty obvious they don't consider him an every day SS.

Since March, 2014, Eduardo Escobar is hitting .268/.306/.407 (.713) with a WRC of 98 and a wOBA of .312.  During that same 1.5 year period, only seven SS have a higher OPS., one of whom is Danny Santana (OPS of .727). During that same 1.5 year period, only nine SS have a higher WRC and wOBA, one of whom is Danny Santana, with a WRC of 102 and a wOBA of .319. 

 

So why not Danny Santana over Escobar?  Two reasons. Escobar has the better defensive metrics, and Santana has the much higher BABIP (still .370 during that 1.5 year period) and thus even assuming Santana has a higher natural BABIP than Escobar due to his speed, is more likely to continue to regress.

 

So the moral of the story is that although Santana and Escobar struggled during the first two months of the season, there is good reason to think that Escobar can be an average to above average hitting major league SS with average defense. With Santana and Polanco also in the picture, I don't think it makes any sense for the Twins to trade for a SS. If they are going to upgrade somewhere, it should be at Catcher.

Edited July 3, 201511 yr by nytwinsfan

I agree with the bolded part of the previous post. I think Escobar provides the floor and that floor is okay offense and defense. I truly don't think we'll ever see 2014 Danny Santana again.

Projecting towards the future using triple slash probably requires going back at least 500 plate appearances.

 

Molitor can probably spot them. It might be a platoon by Twins starting pitcher making sure Nunez isn't the SS when pitchers with ground ball tendencies are starting.

And just think, the Twins had a perfectly serviceable shortstop last year in Escobar. He did nothing to lose the starting job except be labeled as a utility player by practically everyone.

 

Projecting towards the future using triple slash probably requires going back at least 500 plate appearances.
 

 

That's exactly why I went back through the beginning of 2014 for Escobar. In that time he has had 673 PAs.

With Hicks returning, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Santana at short tonight. Not that I want it to happen.

 

Since March, 2014, Eduardo Escobar is hitting .268/.306/.407 (.713) with a WRC of 98 and a wOBA of .312.  During that same 1.5 year period, only seven SS have a higher OPS., one of whom is Danny Santana (OPS of .727). During that same 1.5 year period, only nine SS have a higher WRC and wOBA, one of whom is Danny Santana, with a WRC of 102 and a wOBA of .319. 

 

So why not Danny Santana over Escobar?  Two reasons. Escobar has the better defensive metrics, and Santana has the much higher BABIP (still .370 during that 1.5 year period) and thus even assuming Santana has a higher natural BABIP than Escobar due to his speed, is more likely to continue to regress.

 

So the moral of the story is that although Santana and Escobar struggled during the first two months of the season, there is good reason to think that Escobar can be an average to above average hitting major league SS with average defense. With Santana and Polanco also in the picture, I don't think it makes any sense for the Twins to trade for a SS. If they are going to upgrade somewhere, it should be at Catcher.

Totally agree. I just want to add one more point: Escobar has more power. He is a streaky hitter. When he is hot, he could carry the team on his shoulder. I don't follow all the games. I could remember he won at least two games this season with his bat. He just has to be a lot more consistent offensively.

I have been a believer in Escobar since about the midway point last season. He hit .275 last year with 35 doubles. There are a lot of teams in baseball who would love to have that production from their shortstop. I have long wondered why so many people on this site get down on him so much. He is an average defender with decent speed, and a solid line drive gap hitter. I have a better feeling when Escobar steps to the plate than I do when Suzuki, Robinson, Santana and even Nunez do...granted that's not necessarily saying much When we got him from the white sox, he truly was considered just a simple utility player, but he proved last year that he can be more than that. I'm not saying build the team around him, but at least give him credit for what he is, a quality backup infielder who can step in and play every day without much of a drop in production...and in our case, better production than anyone else we have right now.

I definitely think that Esco should be starting at SS as long as the Twins are in contention.  He's good enough on both sides of the ball to provide adequate performance for that position.  Santana probably needs to go to Rochester and get ready to be the starting shortstop in 2016 (hopefully with his higher upside).

 

This leaves Nunez to be the utility guy and bat off the bench.  Frankly, he probably should have been getting some starts at DH all along with the problems we've been having there.  Not gonna happen now with Sano but that's more than fine.

 

With Hicks returning, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Santana at short tonight. Not that I want it to happen.

Just saw the lineup posted on mlb.com. Hicks replaces Santana in center, Escobar stays at short.

Probably the best hitting lineup we can put out there right now. Hopefully mash tonight. Guthrie has been good at home, 1.88 ERA or something.