Results tagged ‘ Alcides Escobar ’

Winter Leagues roundup

Brewers PR man Ken Spindler put together a list of Brewers players participating in the various Winter Leagues. Here are some highlights:

Brewers shortstop Alcides Escobar is off to a quiet start in the Venezuelan Winter League and headlines a list of 26 players with Brewers ties who played on after the end of the U.S. summer season. 
Escobar was hitting .211 with a .248 on-base percentage through Wednesday, when he played his 24th game for the Cardenales de Lara. He returned home looking to build off a rookie season in the Majors in which Escobar hit .235 with a .288 OBP, four home runs, 45 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. 
Two of Escobar’s September teammates were also playing in Winter Leagues. Outfielder Carlos Gomez batted .269 with four RBIs and 11 runs in 19 games through Nov. 19 for Escogido in the Dominican Republic, and infielder Luis Cruz is active in Culiacan, Mexico, batting .293 with six home runs and 20 RBIs in 34 games including a two-hit night Wednesday. 
A total of 14 Brewers players are participating in Winter Leagues in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico after 12 players took part in the Arizona Fall League. 
In addition to Gomez, the Brewers’ Dominican League contingent includes infielder Erick Almonte, who is batting .277 with 3 home runs and 19 RBIs in 43 games for the same team that featured Gomez.  Right-handed pitcher Zack Segovia, who signed a Minor League contract with Milwaukee in November and will be in big league Spring Training camp, has gone 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA and eight saves in 16 relief appearances with Estrellas. 
In the Mexican Winter League, longtime Brewers farmhand Brendan Katin batted .261 with one home run and three RBIs in six games in October prior to joining the Venezuela Winter League, where he has played in eight games.  Right-hander Josh Butler made five appearances, four starts, with Hermosillo. 
The Brewers are represented by five players in the Puerto Rican Winter League.  Infielder Sergio Miranda leads the league with a .364 batting average to go along with 16 RBIs in 32 games with San Juan.  Left-hander Efrain Nieves is also playing for San Juan and has gone 2-4 with a 4.62 ERA in 10 games including eight starts.  Right-handers Hiram Burgos (0-1, 3.06 ERA) and Darren Byrd (2-1, 4.46 ERA) have both pitched in eight games with Mayaguez and catcher Martin Maldonado (.241 average, six RBIs) has played in 21 games with Mayaguez. The Brewers added Maldonado to the 40-man roster this winter. 
In Venezuela, catcher Anderson De La Rosa has played in two games with Lara and left-hander Sam Narron went 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA in seven starts with Caracas. The Brewers recently re-signed Narron, the cousin of new Milwaukee bench coach Jerry Narron, to a Minor League contract. 
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Brewers shut out of Fielding Bible

The Fielding Bible Awards were unveiled on Monday, in which panel of experts, including MLB.com’s Peter Gammons, stat guru Bill James and defensive metric innovator John Dewan, selected the top defensive player at each position by ranking players 1-10. The Brewers had precisely zero players make the top 10 at his position.

A couple came close. Ryan Braun just missed the cut among left fielders and ditto for Alcides Escobar among shortstops. Carlos Gomez got a couple of votes among center fielders. 
But that’s it. 
If you’re interested, you can read more about the Fielding Bible here, and the vote tallies are available here. 
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Rookies making impact

It seems to me that the silver lining of an otherwise lost Brewers season is the slew of rookies who have proven they fit at the Major League level. With that in mind, here’s a preview of a feature set to hit Brewers.com later today:

escobar-lucroy.jpg
The Brewers broke camp with one rookie on the Opening Day roster — shortstop Alcides Escobar. Now, they’re everywhere. 
“It feels like half the team!” Escobar said. 
Not quite, but the Brewers have certainly skewed younger since the start of the season. On a given day in August the Brewers could start Escobar at shortstop, Jonathan Lucroy behind the plate and Lorenzo Cain in center field, with Zach Braddock ready in relief to face the opponent’s toughest left-handed hitter and John Axford on hand for a save opportunity.
When rosters expanded on Wednesday, right-hander Jeremy Jeffress joined the group. He’s only 22, and when he trotted in for the bottom of the eighth inning against the Reds, he threw his first pitch above Double-A. 
This is not necessarily the way general manager Doug Melvin drew it up in Spring Training. Cain and Lucroy, in particular, probably could have used more Minor League seasoning considering they both began the year in Double-A. But as needs arose, Melvin reacted. 
And the kids responded. 
“When we came up, we knew we had a job to do,” Braddock said. “There was going to be a learning period, but we also needed to do the job that was asked of us.”
Braddock and Axford — along with non-rookie Kameron Loe — were crucial in the Brewers’ midseason makeover of a bullpen that cost them dearly in April. Braddock has a 2.76 ERA in 36 games and, while he allowed a couple of inherited runners to score on Wednesday, is unscored upon in all but four of his outings. Axford claimed the closer’s role brilliantly from Trevor Hoffman, going 19-for-21 in save chances including seven saves of four or more outs. 
Lucroy was summoned in May after the Brewers lost starting catcher Gregg Zaun to a season-ending shoulder and top catching prospect Angel Salome to personal issues. Lucroy has proven serviceable, hitting .265 with four home runs and showing improvement in his game-calling and defense. 
The Brewers promoted Cain briefly in July and then recalled him for good in early August when center fielder Carlos Gomez went on the disabled list with a concussion. Cain has taken hold of the position, flashing some surprisingly spectacular defense while hitting .300 with a .351 on-base percentage in 70 at-bats.
Escobar has had the ups and downs the Brewers expected during his rookie season. He’s hitting .251. 
It will take some time for them to really settle in. 
“They’re coming along,” manager Ken Macha said. “But my experience is that normally it takes about three years for guys really to settle into the Major Leagues. You know who’s pitching, how they pitched you, you start to learn the hitters, what they do, all that kind of stuff. 
“You’re comfortable with your surroundings. You know what to expect when you come to the ballpark. It takes some time for guys to make that leap forward to being a Major League player.” 
Which Brewers rookie do you think will end up being the best Major Leaguer?
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Hart remains out of Brewers lineup

After leaving the game for precautionary reasons on Friday night with a tight right hamstring, All-Star right fielder Corey Hart remained out of the lineup Saturday for the Brewers.

In his place, was recently-acquired outfielder Chris Dickerson. With Hart missing from the No. 2 hole, manager Ken Macha opted to go with rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar batting behind leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks 2B
Escobar  SS
Braun  LF
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Cain  CF
Dickerson  RF
Lucroy  C
Narveson  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Macha shakes up Brewers lineup vs. D-backs

Hours after trading veteran center fielder Jim Edmonds to the Reds for outfielder Chris Dickerson, manager Ken Macha had plenty of changes in store for the Brewers lineup.

Milwaukee’s regular starters for both corner outfield positions, Ryan Braun (wrist) and Corey Hart (back), got the night off on Monday with minor injuries. The ripple effect of those moves resulted in rookie Alcides Escobar making his first career start in right field.
Utility man Joe Inglett will start in left field. Making the move even more peculiar is the fact that Dickerson is expected to be in uniform Monday night for the Brewers. Rather than use the newly-acquired outfielder, though, Macha opted for Escobar who has impressed in the outfield.
Sounds like Dickerson won’t arrive in Milwaukee until about 5 p.m., however, so that may explain the decision to use Escobar in the outfield. Still, the move leaves the Brewers bench with no infielders, just Hart, Braun, Dickerson and catcher George Kottaras.
The batting order saw some changes as well, beginning at the top:
Escobar  RF
Counsell  SS
Weeks   2B
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Cain  CF
Inglett  LF
Lucroy  C
Narveson  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Escobar moves up

Only a minor lineup tweak for Brewers manager Ken Macha, who bumped-up rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar to the seven-hole, ahead of catcher Jonathan Lucroy. The Brewers are 6-2 over their last eight games and will try to stay rolling against the Pirates tonight. 
Rickie Weeks 2B
Corey Hart RF
Ryan Braun LF
Prince Fielder 1B
Casey McGehee 3B
Jim Edmonds CF
Alcides Escobar SS
Jonathan Lucroy C
Dave Bush RHP
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Escobar back in lineup for series finale

No major surprises in manager Ken Macha’s final lineup before the All-Star break.

The only change from Saturday is at shortstop, as rookie Alcides Escobar is back in the lineup in place of veteran infielder Craig Counsell.
Aside from that, it’s business as usual for the Brewers:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Braun  LF
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Kottaras  C
Gomez  CF
Escobar  SS
Wolf  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Counsell at shortstop vs. lefty Bumgarner

As promised by manager Ken Macha, rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar got the day off Tuesday in the Brewers’ second of a four-game series against the Giants at Miller Park. 

Macha said he would give Escobar at least two of the final six games off before the All-Star break, and Tuesday was the first, as veteran Craig Counsell was in the lineup for the Crew with left-handed rookie Madison Bumgarner on the hill for San Francisco.
The rest of the lineup is as would be expected, with George Kottaras starting in place of rookie Jonathan Lucroy as lefty Randy Wolf takes the mound for Milwaukee.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Fielder  1B
Braun  LF
McGehee  3B
Counsell  SS
Gomez  CF
Kottaras  C
Wolf  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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No surprises in Brewers lineup

After tweaking the lineup so many times early on to find a combination that works, Brewers manager Ken Macha has made far fewer changes of late. For Tuesday night’s matchup with the Astros, there’s only one change from the night before.

Rookie shortstop Alcides Escobar is back in the lineup after taking the day off on Monday in favor of veteran infielder Craig Counsell. 
With a right-hander taking the hill for the Astros, veteran center fielder Jim Edmonds remains in the lineup for the second straight day.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Fielder  1B
Braun  LF
McGehee  3B
Edmonds  CF
Lucroy  C
Escobar  SS
Gallardo  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Escobar sits out Game 2

A day after he made a series of sparkling defensive plays, Alcides Escobar, who is 2-for-15 at the plate on this road trip, will be on the Brewers bench as a three-game series against the Cardinals continues on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals are featuring a rookie right-hander, Adam Ottavino, making his second Major League start. 

Here’s the lineup:
Rickie Weeks  2B
Craig Counsell  SS
Ryan Braun  LF
Prince Fielder  1B
Casey McGehee  3B
Jim Edmonds  CF
Corey Hart  RF
George Kottaras  C
Chris Narveson  LHP
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