Edwin Escobar

Edwin Jose Escobar

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.

• Debut August 27, 2014
• Final Game September 26, 2016
• Born April 22, 1992 in La Sabana, Vargas, Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

Starting pitcher Edwin Escobar began playing in the minor leagues in 2009. His brother Elvis Escobar played in the minors, his father Jose Escobar played in the majors. His cousins Vicente Campos, Alcides Escobar and Kelvim Escobar played in the majors.

Signed by the Texas Rangers as an undrafted free agent, he pitched for the AZL Rangers in his rookie professional season and went 2-5 with a 5.00 ERA in 13 games (12 starts), while striking out 48 batters in 45 innings. He tied for third in the Arizona League in losses. After only a year in pro ball, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Ben Snyder in April 2010.

He pitched for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes that season and went 2-4 with a 4.86 ERA in 14 starts. In 63 innings, he K'ed 69 batters. for fifth in the Northwest League in whiffs. He was 1-0 with a 2.82 ERA in his Venezuelan Winter League debut, for the Cardenales de Lara; he allowed only 14 hits in 22 1/3 innings but walked 16. He missed nearly a month early in 2011 with a laceration to his left hand. With the AZL Giants (2-4, 5.09) and Augusta Greenjackets (1-3, 18.00) in 2011, Escobar was 3-7 with a 6.58 ERA in 19 games (14 starts) and was 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA for Lara that winter. In 2012, he was 7-8 with a 2.96 ERA in 22 starts for Augusta. He was third in the South Atlantic League in ERA behind Tyler Anderson and Clayton Blackburn and tied Austin Brice for 7th in strikeouts (122). Anderson beat him out for honors as the SAL All-Star left-handed pitcher. He was named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star following that successful campaign.

He was a California League Mid-Season All-Star in 2013. He went 3-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 16 games (14 starts) for the San Jose Giants that year, while striking out 92 batters in 74 2/3 innings. He also made 10 starts for the Richmond Flying Squirrels that season and went 5-4 with 54 Ks and a 2.67 ERA, for a combined record of 8-8 with a 2.80 ERA in 26 games (24 starts). He had 146 strikeouts and only 30 walks in 128 2/3 innings. He was third in the Cal League in ERA at the time of his promotion. He finished the year first in the Giants farm system in strikeouts, 8 ahead of Blackburn, and was second to Kendry Flores in ERA. With Lara in the winter, he was 0-1 with a 3.81 ERA in 18 games (3 starts).

Escobar was sent to the AAA Fresno Grizzlies at the start of the 2014 season, where he made 20 starts with a record of 3-8, 5.11. He gave up 128 hits in 111 innings, but on the positive side, his K/W ratio was 96/37, a sign that he was not completely overmatched by the higher level of competition. On July 26th, he and Grizzlie teammate Heath Hembree were sent to the Boston Red Sox in return for veteran starting pitcher Jake Peavy. He was called up briefly by the Red Sox in early August but was not used in a game before being sent back to the Pawtucket Red Sox. he returned to Boston to make his debut on August 27th, pitching an inning of relief in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Sources

• 2014 Giants Media Guide
• Purapelota

Related Sites

• Edwin Escobar on mlb.com
• BR Minors page