Yunel Escobar

This is a tough one to predict. I think Escobar has enough experience to fill in for Renteria full time and make a solid replacement. I doubt he will replicate Renteria's 2007 numbers, but I can see him being pretty solid and even worthy of drafting in fantasy. Escobar should be more solid on defense however. It seemed like everything to the left or right of Renteria went into the outfield. Many Braves skeptics think the Braves got worse with the loss of Renteria. I believe Escobar will make you forget him.

I found a website that has a few different predictions based on some formula. Not exactly my favorite, but for a guy with little mlb experience, it makes it easier for me to judge on how he might do. I'll give an example of CHONE projections. On a side note, they give Escobar better numbers than Renteria.

AB R H 1B 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO HBP AVG OBP SLG OPS
471 74 136 97 29 3 7 50 8 6 44 73 5 .289 .356 .408 .763

Not bad, I believe he will have more at bats, probably around 600. So therefore I expect around 100 runs, 174 hits, 35 2B, 10 HR, 65 RBI, 15 SB, 5 CS, 60 BB, 85 SO, .290 AVG, .370 OBP, .450 SLG, .820 OPS.

He will be all around solid, not quite elite like Rollins, Reyes, Ramirez, but will definitely contribute. Like I said, it is tough to tell what exactly we will get out of Escobar. Anything better than CHONE projections and mine is a bargain.