There is a grassroots movement amongst some Twins fans pushing for Eduardo Escobar to take over the starting short stop duties from Pedro Florimon. Based on the early season sample size, it’s easy to see why fans may feel that way.
So far, Florimon has proven to be a serviceable bat but has seemingly been underwhelming at short, committing 3 errors in 68 fielding opportunities. His ultimate zone rating (UZR) is 0.2. The UZR of an average defender is 0, above average 5, great 10 and gold glove caliber player 15. Conversely, below average is -5, poor is -10 and horrible is -15+. Right now, Florimon ranks as an average big league short stop.
Offensively, Florimon’s .308/.441/.345 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in 35 at bats has been a pleasant surprise so far this season. Florimon has been expected to hit in the .220’s and Ron Gardenhire still treats him accordingly, frequently pinch hitting Wilkin Ramirez or Chris Parmelee for Florimon in key situations late in games.
Those pinch hits have allowed for Eduardo Escobar to creep up on Florimon’s starting job. After the inning ends, Escobar has been the player to assume short stop for the remainder of the game. Defensively, Escobar hasn’t tallied enough opportunities to earn a UZR rating yet, which is part of the problem of trying to compare the two players so early in the season. The sample size is just too small for a fair comparison.
It’s what Escobar has been doing with the bat late in games that has fans so interested. In the scant 15 games the Twins have played in 2013, Eduardo Escobar has been up to bat in several key situations late in games and he has delivered.
Offensively, Escobar is the better player (to the surprise of no one) posting a .409/.409/.591 triple slash in 22 at bats. His 182 WRC+ screams small sample size (Florimon boasts a 142 WRC+ right now too) and his .444 BABIP is nice, but not likely to stay that high all season.
From what we’ve seen on the field so far, Escobar looks to have just as much range as Florimon with an equal, if not slightly stronger arm. Escobar’s bat is obviously better as he makes more contact and scouts cite his longer swing as a source of his surprising power. What it comes down to is Pedro Florimon has been perfectly capable of being a big league starter at short stop. He’s average on defense and has been hitting surprisingly well so far. Escobar’s early season numbers are great, but are tainted by the small sample size of a 15 game season. If Florimon regresses to his expected norm, look for Escobar to take over the starting job, but until that regressing occurs, look for the Twins to keep utilizing their lineup exactly as they have been.
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