By Adam Forsyth
The Shallow
Yunel Escobar – Shortstop (SS)
Prior to Yunel pulling an abdominal muscle in yesterday's game he was off to a tremendous start. Escobar has always had the potential to be a daily contributor and a fantasy option at a position of fantasy scarcity. The drop from the upper echelon to the second, third, and fourth tier rungs is probably more drastic at shortstop than anywhere else on the field now.
With that being said, up until yesterday Escobar had been obviously seeing the ball quite well. He's had a couple of seasons of development under his belt at the major league level, perhaps Escobar is on the brink of becoming a genuine fantasy option.
He'd been getting accustomed to being slotted in the second spot of the Braves line-up - hitting in front of the gifted Chipper Jones and Brian McCann.
Escobar has also taken a new approach in the box to simplify his swing and show more control in his follow through which has translated into early season success.
Showing a bit more pop last season, Escobar looks visibly bulked up from last season, and could potentially be a .300 hitter that contributes nicely in the power stats. Nothing overwhelming; however, he won’t hurt you.
He is definitely a more suitable MI in leagues that have that option than going ahead with him as your SS.
Note: Be aware that there stands some chance he could land on the DL if this abdominal injury lingers - but Escobar was quoted as saying he could play tomorrow if need be, so at this time it may not be too serious.
The Deep
Kyle Davies – Starting Pitcher
Yikes! A Royals pitcher not named Meche or Greinke? Laugh if you must; however, this one-time Atlanta Braves prospect looked really good in his first start of 2009 and not too shabby in his second. With the Royals looking as if they have improved enough to be competitive on a nightly basis, perhaps this is the season that the 25-year old puts it all together.
Kyle Davies - sporting the retro looking red pinstripe Negro League uniforms from the ol’ Kansas City Monarchs.
I’m not telling you to place your trust in the right-handers usual erratic arm, but keep notes on him, and re-evaluate after say five or six starts. He was once dominant not so long ago, as his minor league 41-23 record and 2.92 ERA explains, all the while being considered a K/IP type pitcher.
Although this hasn’t translated as nicely through the first few seasons of his major league career, he has always seemed as if he is forcing his stuff instead of just believing in it.
His fastball still reaches the mid-90’s and with a blend of pitches and speeds, he may reach the potential the Braves were so excited about when they drafted him. Fortunately for the Royals, it will be as part of their re-birth as well.
Being slotted in the number four rotation position will relieve some of the pressure and give him some favorable match-ups, so I’d say expect 10 wins, an ERA in the 4.30 range and somewhere in the vicinity of 110K’s.
