Eduardo Escobar's ceiling

I've felt this way for a while.

When I first read about comparisons between Escobar’s defense and Vizquel’s, the first thing I did was check their MiLB offensive stats.

Now, the notion that Escobar’s "D" compares to Vizquel is something I can’t verify (having never seen him personally), but I doubt it’s quite that good. Not a knock at EE, but Omar is among the all-time best defenders at the game's hardest defensive position.

Still, they are comparable for a few reasons. Beyond simply being Venezuelan, they’re both switch hitters of a modest build. Omar is a tiny bit shorter, EE a tiny bit skinnier. They both had good speed in the minors, and they both failed to translate that speed into steals.

What gives me hope is that Omar’s bat continued to improve into his late 20′s, and into his early 30′s. His baserunning followed suite, while his defense remained elite. If EE can follow the same (or at least similar) path…well that’s just a nice thought. Right now, he projects to me as a Cesar Izturis type...a utility player on a contender. But the potential for greatness is there, and in terms of prospects...that's the most important thing.

EE is already a better hitter than Omar was at the same point in their respective careers. Assuming an Omar-like path of progression is obviously unfair, but it’s always nice to dream.