Royals' Escobar Making Contact

Buster Olney reports that the Kansas City Royals are pleased with what they've seen in Alcides Escobar so far this spring.  In addition to his good fielding, GM Dayton Moore likes his approach at the plate: "He hasn't swung and missed much at all, and he's made hard contact."  The Royals are hoping he will develop into a #2 hitter in their lineup.

In his short career, Escobar does have a decent contact rate of 83.8%, putting him in the 74th percentile since 2008.  Against fastballs, he has an even more impressive 88.9% contact rate;  however, this comes with a .243 batting average and .351 slugging percentage. 

Escobar put up an OPS of .797 and .762 in his final two minor league seasons (2008, 2009).  At age 24, he could still develop into a decent hitter, but his major league numbers so far have been less than impressive.  This season might tell us a lot about what type of player he could become.