Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The Kansas City Royals are one of the the worst offensive teams in all of baseball. They rank towards the bottom in runs scored, home runs and RBI. However, the team has some players providing a spark at the plate. One of those players is shortstop Alcides Escobar.
So far in 38 games, Escobar is hitting .282/.336/.405 with 10 doubles (fourth on the team), two home runs (third), 17 RBI (third) and 11 stolen bases (first). The fact that Escobar is third on the team with only two home runs is very telling of this Royals offense.
The biggest upside to owning Escobar is his speed on the base paths. He is tied for eighth among all players in terms of stolen bases. Escobar hit a grand slam on Sunday, but he is far from being a power hitter. His best skill is to get on base and swipe a couple of bags.
Taking a look at ESPN.com’s Player Rater, Escobar is ranked fourth among shortstops. The position isn’t home to many productive hitters. Troy Tulowitzki, Dee Gordon and Jose Reyes top that list. Hanley Ramirez is also producing with his five home runs and 19 RBI. Other than these players, the shortstops cannot provide numbers in most, if not all, the hitting categories.
Escobar is owned in just under 61 percent of ESPN leagues. He was widely undrafted in leagues while struggling players like Andrelton Simmons and J.J. Hardy continue to be owned in more than their fair share of leagues.
Unless you own one of the top shortstops, then you can benefit from picking up Escobar.
Bill Pivetz is a fantasy sports writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @BPiv_Sports.
