23-year old righty swinging Alcides Escobar will finally get his shot in 2010 as the Brewers’ starting shortstop. He played in 38 games for the Brewers last season and he was 38 for 125 (.304 avg, .701 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Escobar also played in 109 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 128 for 430 (.298 avg, .762 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 4 homers, 34 RBIs and 42 stolen bases. Escobar has a nice upside and I have a feeling that he will make Brewers’ fans forget about J.J. Hardy. Escobar made 6 errors in 37 games at SS last season while showing good range.

39-year old lefty swinging Craig Counsell will backup Escobar in 2010. He played in 27 games for the Brewers at SS last season and he only made 1 error there while showing outstanding range.

26-year old righty swinging Luis Cruz will likely start the season in AAA and get a call to Milwaukee if the need arises. He played in 27 games for the Pirates last season and he was 15 for 70 (.214 avg, .511 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Cruz made 2 errors in 17 games for the Pirates at SS last season but he showed out of this world range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: B