Yunel Escobar is outperforming Hanley Ramirez, Derek Jeter and Alex Gonzalez thus far this year but he’s not getting much love… until now.
Analysis: Yunel Escobar is seventh in batting average, fourth in runs and sixth in homers among all big league shortstops this season. Escobar has bounced back well after an awful 2010 season that saw him hit just four homers and bat .256 in 135 games. This year Escobar is on pace for double digit homers, a batting average in the .285-295 range and an impressive eighty-five plus runs. He’s rated as the sixteenth best shortstop accordingly to most “player raters” yet he is available in forty percent of fantasy leagues. His walk rate of 11% is at a career high level, in fact he’s second among shortstops in the walk department with nineteen. The only negative aspect of his game this year is his stolen bases. He’s only received the green light twice, stealing just one bag on the year. He still should end up with five or six steals by year’s end but it is a slight concern. Escobar is just twenty-eight years old and his power should be surfacing momentarily. Smart owners will want to pluck him up off the wire if only for depth. A shortstop that should hit .290 with double digit homers, nearly ninety runs and a handful of steals is considered a valuable asset on any fantasy team, so show Yunel some love.