The numbers have been telling. Eduardo Escobar, an All-Star last season, has never hit quite like he is hitting this season. He is working pitchers more than he ever has.
He fought through a 10-pitch walk against Carlos Rodon on Wednesday, taxing a starter the Mets wanted out of the game as quickly as possible. He entered play Thursday as the NL leader in doubles (with seven) and ninth best in baseball at draining opposing pitchers, seeing 4.53 pitches per plate appearance.
Then he added his first home run as a Met to his sizzling start during the 6-2 victory over the Giants at Citi Field on Thursday.
The praise, though, might be more telling.
“Awesome. Awesome,” Mark Canha, himself regarded for a disciplined approach, repeated about Escobar. “He’s an incredible hitter, he’s really doing it all. I think the more we can [work the pitchers] — I think there’s a time to do that and a time to hit early in the count, and you just have to feel that out.”
The 33-year-old Escobar has been better than advertised after totaling 28 home runs last season with the Diamondbacks and Brewers. He never has been particularly strong at finding his way on base, but a tweaked approach has enabled the infielder to draw 12 walks in 13 games.
It took him 52 games last season to draw his 12th walk.
“I think that comes a lot with maturity and the experience of actually being here,” Escobar said through interpreter Alan Suriel, indicating the Mets’ staff has focused on this area of his game. “It’s been a lot of work, working with coaches and actually just having that experience and playing, going out there with a plan.”
The plan has given him the second-best slugging percentage on the team (.591, only trailing Francisco Lindor) and the second-best on-base percentage (.464, only trailing Canha).
It also has attracted the attention of his teammates — although Lindor has seen plenty of swings like the one Escobar executed against San Francisco’s Anthony DeSclafani in the second inning for his first home run.
Lindor flashed back to his own days in Cleveland, where he saw plenty of then-Twin Escobar in AL Central matchups.
“I’m not impressed by what he’s doing right now — I’ve seen it,” Lindor said about his pal. “I’m just super happy for him. I’m glad he’s on my side now.”
After a rough debut season in New York notably for Lindor, this year’s crop of free agents has performed immediately.
“I think it’s one of those things where we know the city we’re playing for — no disrespect to any other city that we’ve ever been in,” said Escobar, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal. “But the one thing that we can control is the work ethic that we put into this.”