Royals Re-Sign Alcides Escobar: Fantasy impact

The Royals filled one lineup hole by bringing back shortstop Alcides Escobar. Is there any fantasy value in the 31-year-old?

The Kansas City Royals roster, as of now, looks different than it did last season. There will be one more familiar face on the field in 2018. Shortstop Alcides Escobar re-signed with the team on a one-year deal.

Being available for all 162 games is a rare feat. Real and fantasy owners would love to have their players play in every game during the season. But matchups and injuries play a role throughout the year. There were five players that did it in 2017, three in 2016 and one in 2015. Escobar did in three times in his last four seasons.

Unfortunately, the number of games played did not equal fantasy production for Escobar last season. He finished with a .250/.272/.357 line with six home runs, 54 RBIs and 71 runs scored. He struck out 102 times, the highest of his career, with 15 walks. Escobar stole just four bases, the lowest since 2009.

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He had a good 2016 season but went undrafted in most leagues last year. Escobar had a 260.0 ADP in ESPN leagues. He finished with as the No. 35 shortstop on the Player Rater. The lack of power, speed and contact, the main essentials, hurt his value in all league formats.

Escobar isn’t much of a power guy, 37 career home runs, and has a career .260 average. He used to have speed, stealing 158 bases in 191 attempts between 2010 and 2016. With speed at an all-time premium, he would have some value if he could steal 20 bases again.

The added downside is that Escobar is slotted to hit at the bottom of the Royals batting order. That will limit his at-bats and opportunity to contribute to the counting stats, something I mentioned in my Austin Jackson piece.

Kauffman Stadium is not a hitter’s park. So, that will limit his and his teammates’ chances to get on base and score runs.

The other thing to notice with this move is the progression, or lack thereof, from Raul Mondesi Jr. In just 209 at-bats, he hit .181 with three homers, 16 RBIs and 20 runs scored. He also has 70 strikeouts to just nine walks with a .226 on-base percentage. This all but guarantees Escobar the starting job for the 2018 season.

Next: Arizona signs Alex Avila

Escobar will rank outside of my top-20 shortstops. Unless something completely changes within the first month, I think you can find many other options on the waiver wire. He doesn’t hit for power, the speed seems to be on the decline and the high strikeout rate lowers his batting average.

Look elsewhere for your starting and backup shortstops this season.