Don't look now, but Escobar's now hitting .300!

[Hate those Rodents]

He's been red hot and raised his average considerably. If he can prove a .300 hitter in AA and/or AAA with his speed and defensive ability at this age, the future for him in Milwaukee will come rather soon and be rather bright.

Edited to add that he's now hitting .300!

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

It's amazing how a 2 week stretch can change people's outlook so much. I liked Escobar at the start of the season and I still do like him. He's going to be a quality shortstop and hopefully for the Milwaukee Brewers. At least he better or the autograph I got of him won't be as special. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Tbadder]

This is so unscientific, but when I saw him on television in the preseason, I thought he had one of those lithe body-types that gradually fills out, gaining strength right up to the age of 25 or so. Am I nuts? Anyone else get that read on him? I think he'll eventually have that gap power. I rermain excited about him.

[Crewin06]

I would like him alot more if his OBP was up around .360-.380 rather than .330.

 

I think he will be a nice player for the Brewers. But I hope it is not for another 2-3 years. Let him work out his kinks in the minors before he gets to the big club.

[Hate those Rodents]

He'll be starting in the majors in less than two years minimum, likely with the Brewers.

[And That]

The most impressive thing about Escobar's season has been his slugging. I think the main question about Escobar's game coming into the year was that he was too light in the bat and wouldn't be able to hit the ball hard enough to stay in the lineup. With a career ISO (SLG-AVG) of 68 coming into the season there was certainly some credence to that notion. So far this year his ISO is 109 - anything above 90-100 in the Southern League for Alcides would go a long way towards proving he'll have power at the big league level, IMO.

[KCBrewerfan34]

Hardy is going to be moved off of SS or he will be traded. This guy doesn't have to hit 25 Hr's for us, its his glove that we need and there appears to be few better with the leather than Mr. Escobar!!!

[twobrewers]

This guy doesn't have to hit 25 Hr's for us, its his glove that we need and there appears to be few better with the leather than Mr. Escobar!!!

To be fair, Escobar has around 9 or 10 errors already. And Hardy isn't exactly bad at defense.

 

Escobar will likely replace Hardy. But I doubt he will be much better - just a cheaper version.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't like errors as a defensive-eval. stat, and expecially in the minors. There's often no way for the scorer to have any better look at the play than what he just saw, real-time. I thought the general consensus on Escobar was that he was even better than J.J. defensively (& I like Hardy's D, too, twobrewers).

[twobrewers]

I thought the general consensus on Escobar was that he was even better than J.J. defensively (& I like Hardy's D, too, twobrewers).

I agree. I am just temporing some of the excitement.

 

I think J.J Hardy plays good defense and has a higher offensive upside than Escobar. Escobar will probably play better defense, but have less offensive impact. (Look at how Hardy started last season - that is his ceiling. I doubt Escobar will ever approach that, though, he may end up more consistent.)

[jjfanec]

Someone a little while back said Escobar's range is phenomenal. That the knock on JJ's defense, that he lacks range. Escobar is right around his career fielding percentage and with that percentage people have been wowed by his play, so I guess the errors do not concern me too much

[TheCrew07]

I would rather have Escobar and Hardy up the middle than Weeks with either of the other 2. Weeks has exciting potential, but how long can a team afford to wait on it? That answer isn't "indefinately", as much as some of us would like to think. Yes teams give up on some players too early, but if you're in contention, how long is too long or not long enough? There's just so much gray area there...

[Postseason2006]

And it's minor league ball playing on minor league fields. Alcides is getting rave reviews for his glove. And if he hits like he is, he is going to be an upgrade over JJ.

 

JJ is slow running, does have limited range, and does not offer that huge offensive upside. Last year was a fluke beginning. JJ will never, ever hit like he did.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

JJ will never, ever hit like he did.

That's quite a bold statement considering he is only 25 years old and only 1 year removed from being a very dominant hitter. Scouts have always said Hardy has 20-25 homer power. Who's to say he won't have many more of those kinds of years?

 

That said, I still like Escobar better at SS for 2010, because he will be a lot cheaper with better defense and maybe a leadoff type hitter that can get Weeks out of there and back into comfort. I know Escobar's OBP isn't there yet for a leadoff hitter, but I think he could be one at the major league level if we let him develop another full season after this year.

[Gopher74]

JJ is slow running, does have limited range, and does not offer that huge offensive upside. Last year was a fluke beginning. JJ will never, ever hit like he did.

I'm not going to speak on what's going to happen in the future because frankly, I don't know, nor will I pretend I do. I will say, if he did it once at age 24-25, to say he'll "never, ever" do it again is probably not a real wise thing to say.

 

But Hardy's slow running? Huh? Why, because he doesn't steal bases? Hardy is one of the fastest Brewers on the team.

[twobrewers]

JJ is slow running, does have limited range, and does not offer that huge offensive upside. Last year was a fluke beginning. JJ will never, ever hit like he did.

Whether JJ ever hits 20+ HR again might be debatable. But to say last year is impossible to repeat is ridiculous. By definition that has to at least be within the range of possibilities since he already has done it!

[battlekow]

Hardy is one of the fastest Brewers on the team.

That's definitely not true. Even the announcers routinely acknowledge that Hardy is not fleet of foot.

 

[Jim Goulart]

Hardy is one of the fastest Brewers on the team.

Wow, I mean, just, wow. You did mean to type one of the slowest, right?

[zzzmanwitz]

I'm a huge Hardy fan... but definitely not for his speed. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[BrewCrewForever]

I really like Escobar. Look forward to him being our SS. Even though he started slow I figured he would pick it up.

[Beerambassador]

No, I'm pretty sure he meant to type fastest.

 

Article on sprint times from 07 camp

 

I doubt Hardy lost all that speed in a year.

[uwisfan]

I doubt Hardy lost all that speed in a year.

Disagree on that thought. He was faster and more powerful prior to last year. He battled back injuries and shoulder injuries and it's anyone's guess as to whether he will or won't be the same player again.

 

[dadofandrew]

JJ is fast on a track, or else Rickie and others barely gave an effort...or a combo of both. He moves pretty well when he gets going, like from 1B to home today.

[TheCrew07]

Some guys make their time at the start, some at full speed with stride... very few do both well unless coached to... and that's mostly a track thing... coaching the entire range of speed. I'm not sure where Hardy gets his speed, but just from watching the 150 or so games I've seen him play in I'd guess he's a slow starter with a good top end. He doesn't have anywhere near the range of Escobar while he gets good jumps on the balls, so he's not very quick in my opinion.. That's probably why JJ doesn't steal bases, he doesn't get out of the gate very fast.

 

I fail to see what a shoulder injury would have to do with how fast you run? I've had a chronically bad shoulder since my junior year in highschool and it didn't slow me down at all, except when it popped out and the whole side of my body went numb so I couldn't get up off the field or floor... The back problem might have slowed him down some, but that should have a greater effect on his fielding than how fast he runs to first. He showed a real nice burst in Saturday's game when he scored on that play, I thought the throw from Left was going to beat him by a mile, but the play at the plate wouldn't have been close with a good throw. He was already sliding on the short hop.

 

While his 60 yard time was pretty good, that doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. Hardy has never gotten a whole lot of love round here, he was pushed too quickly, he's not a super athlete like Hall, and so on. When people talk about the infield, it usually seems like Hardy is the first guy people want to get rid of. Obviously I'm biased, hence my name, but while he doesn't have great range, he takes care of the balls he can get to. Hall made the fantastic play and booted the easy one at SS (does the same at 3B imo), Rickie is hit or miss, Fielder... is generally on the poor side. If not for JJ who do we hang our hat on defensively in the infield? JJ's game is steady all the way around, as a coach and a fan I want consistentcy, that's JJ, and that's why he's my guy.

 

I'm really high on Escobar, I have been for a long time, but I'm not ready trade Hardy because Escobar has had 3 good weeks with the bat... It's a long season, lets see where the 2 players are in July. For Escobar to be valuable as a starter in MLB his SLG needs to be higher than his OBP, this offense doesn't need another hole, those are the only 2 numbers I've been watching of his all year.

[Gopher74]

Hardy is one of the fastest Brewers on the team.

Wow, I mean, just, wow. You did mean to type one of the slowest, right?

Not at all. I meant one of the fastest. And to the person who made mention of these announcers who make mention of how slow Hardy is, I've never once heard that, and I watch every single game(DVR the ones I can't watch live). I've heard them say he's not a great base stealer. Never that he wasn't fast.

 

I swear though, I got a strike for saying the exact same thing...the "wow...just wow" part. Not that I take any offense to it whatsoever. Just pointing that out.....