Yunel Escobar

You're a general manager with a team in the thick of a pennant race, trying to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Your shortstop has not yet produced at the plate, but has performed well in the field (sixth in the league in fielding average, and first in the league in double-plays turned). Shopping for a replacement, you come up with two choices:

Shortstop 1: .299 batting average, .837 OPS, 14 homers.

Shortstop 2: .238 batting average, .635 OPS, 8 homers.

You want shortstop No. 1, right?

As the month of May is drawing to a close, it’s hard to believe that coming into this month the Braves were in last place and just a game removed from a nine-game skid.

It almost feels like we are in a different season.

After a decent start to the month, the Braves caught fire—and have won five out of their last six series (the other series was a 1-1 split between the Braves and Mets).

What I’m Reading

The parallels between Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard continue, as Howard’s recent contract extension is bound to influence the market for Pujols’ cash-in day.

I know, having Yunel Escobar at the top of the lineup sounds crazy, but the numbers seem to show a different story.

.197/.270/.335 (263 Plate Appearances)

.179/.281/.232 (64 Plate Appearances)

.411/.427/.616 (75 Plate Appearances)

What are these stat lines? They are the typical BA/OBP/SLG line when a player is leading off a game.

But who are those players? In order, they are Nate McLouth, Melky Cabrera, and Yunel Escobar.

The shortstop position has been ever changing since Cal Ripken Jr. first stepped on a major league field.

The position that used to have only the smallest players and lightest hitters is now filled with tall and powerful baseball players who use their size to extend their defensive range rather than pure speed.

The trend of big, filled-out shortstops has developed so much that it now has branches of styles stemming from it.