What can we expect from Alcides Escobar?

For better or worse, after Alcides Escobar got even a snippet of exposure with the big club at the tail end of the season, J.J. Hardy’s days as the Brewers starting shortstop were numbered; not surprisingly, the Brewers dealt him in a 1-for-1 swap for CF Carlos Gomez to address another need. To their credit, they likely reaped solid value for Hardy in a position where they could’ve been bent over backwards. That said, I wouldn’t say I’m exactly sold on Escobar’s skills entering the 2010 season. In his 134 AB spree at the end of the season last year, Escobar hit an impressive but empty .303 (.333 OBP, .368 SLG). He stole 4 bases, walked 3% of the time and made contact at a pretty solid clip (14.3% K Rate, according to http://fangraphs.com). His rosiest projection, from the Marcel system, projects .290/.347/.421, though I think that’s pushing it quite a bit. I’d say I’m most comfortable with the CHONE projection of .291/.334/.398. The pl...