Escobar continues to progress at the plate

KANSAS CITY -- Alcides Escobar had a game-turning, hit-and-run double to right field in Monday's 3-1 comeback victory over the Twins and continues to progress as a hitter.

Royals manager Ned Yost was impressed by the shortstop back when Escobar was a Minor Leaguer in the Milwaukee system and Yost was managing the Brewers.

"When I saw Escobar as an A-ball player, I knew that he was going to be a fantastic player," Yost said. "Defensively, he was already eye-popping at shortstop. But you could watch him swing, and at that point he might've weighed 150 pounds, and you just knew when he started to fill out and got a little older that he was going to be able to swing the bat. And that's exactly what has happened. He's got experience and he's learned over the last two years how to hit the ball to right field as well as pull the ball. ... As he's filled out, he's got the ability to hit the ball out of the park and hit the ball to all fields."

Escobar is currently playing with cracked skin on his right thumb.

"The thumb's not an issue," Yost said.