Alcides Escobar - is he on the fast track?

[Danimal]

How soon might Alcides Escobar, the Brewers SS prospect, get called up?

Any chance he'll get some playing time in September?

[Havok1517]

I doubt it unless he's included in a trade which melvin has said won't happen.

[stumpak]

Considering they are in a pennant race and Escobar would be looking at handful of junk ABs at best, I would be pretty confident the Brewers to not add him when rosters expand. Why accrue MLB service time toward arbitration for no reason?

[freeling_prideful]

The Brewers also seemed to have a plan that dictated that their stud prospects in AA Huntsville keep moving up levels together--LaPorta, Gamel, and Escobar. They wanted those guys to develop some chemistry together and get used to winning together, so they could make a smoother combined transition to the majors. Well, LaPorta's obviously gone, but I think Gamel and Escobar will move up to AAA together sometime before the end of this year or starting next year, and play about 70 games there before getting called up.

I actually think Gamel will be called up first, though, since 3B is more of a trouble spot for the Brewers. Once his defense becomes even 80-90% of major league average, his bat will be good enough to earn him the starting job over Bill Hall or whoever is there. On the other hand, Escobar is blocked by JJ Hardy, who is no slouch at SS and is actually a fairly solid hitter. Perhaps the Brewers trade Hardy or shift him or Escobar to 2B when they give up on Weeks, but that's the only scenario where I see Escobar in the majors anytime soon. Otherwise, he'll probably get a September cup of tea in 2009, en route to becoming a starter in 2010.