Luis Escobar

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #11 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Escobar signed for $150,000 when he was a 17-year-old, 155-pound third baseman, but he showed enough strength in his arm that the Pirates decided he had a much brighter future standing on the mound. They brought him along slowly and he didn't pitch a full minor league season until 2017 when he struck out 168 batters in 131.2 innings at low Class A West Virginia. He was added to the 40-man roster before the 2018 season. His stats weren't as impressive in 2018, but good enough to move from high Class A Bradenton to Double-A Altoona and he did hold Double-A hitters to a .227 average.
  
  Scouting Report: Escobar is still evolving into a pitcher. He has the velocity with a four-seamer that generally sits in the 93-95 mile per hour range but can hit 97 when he rears back. It has ride up in the zone, and plays well off a sharp 12-6 curveball. He's developing good feel for a changeup as well. However, he still struggles with fastball command, and he's walked 119 batters in the last two seasons, including 21 in 35.2 innings in Altoona.
  
  The Future: Escobar stuff still makes him one of the best pitching prospects in the Pirates system, but he won't advance past Double-A until he shows a better handle of it.
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  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #7 prospect in 2018
  Pirates international scouts found Escobar as a 17-year-old in Cartagena, Colombia, and liked his live arm. They signed him for $150,000. He was just 155 pounds at the time and played third base, but the Pirates pushed him to pitch. Escobar has increased his velocity as he added weight and strength, and his breakthrough season in 2017 included a trip to the Futures Game. At low Class A West Virginia in 2017 he led the South Atlantic League with 168 strikeouts and a .200 opponent average, though he also ranked second with 60 walks. Escobar throws a four-seam fastball with riding action that he can get up to 97 mph and usually sits in the 93-95 range. He can still be a little scattershot with his fastball, but he has made major control improvements in the past year. He pairs his heater with a sharp above-average 12-6 curveball with late drop. His changeup needs further development, but it generates fringe-average to average grades as well. Escobar will likely begin 2018 at high Class A Bradenton. Some scouts see him as a future power reliever, but if his changeup and control keep developing he could stay in the rotation.
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  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #28 prospect in 2017
  The Pirates have been more heavily involved in Colombia than most other organizations during Rene Gayo's tenure as Latin American scouting director, and they believe they found a potential gem when they signed the hard-throwing Escobar for $150,000 in 2013. Though Escobar is slightly built, he generates outstanding arm speed that allows him to run his fastball up to 97 mph while sitting at 93-95. He gets good spin on his curveball, though he is still in the process of gaining better command of it, and he has a changeup that could eventually become a solid third offering. Escobar showed during his first taste of action in the U.S. in 2016 that he still needs work on the finer points of pitching, particularly when it comes to consistently throwing strikes and holding runners. He will likely begin the 2017 season at low Class A West Virginia.