Luis Escobar (baseball)


Luis Alberto Escobar Hernandez is a Colombian professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Professional career

Escobar signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent in July 2013. He made his professional debut in 2014 for the DSL Pirates and spent the whole season there, posting a 2–4 record and a 4.75 ERA in 13 games started. In 2015, he played for both the GCL Pirates and the West Virginia Black Bears, pitching to a combined 2–1 record, 3.83 ERA, and a 1.13 WHIP in 13 starts, and in 2016, he returned to the Black Bears, posting a 6–5 record and 2.93 ERA in 15 games.
Escobar was on Colombia's roster for the 2017 World Baseball Classic but did not play. Escobar represented the Pirates in the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. He spent the 2017 season with the West Virginia Power where he posted a 10–7 record and a 3.83 ERA with 168 strikeouts in 131.2 innings pitched. The Pirates added him to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season. He split the 2018 season between the Bradenton Marauders and the Altoona Curve, going a combined 11–6 with a 4.14 in 127 innings. He opened the 2019 season with Bradenton, before being promoted to the Indianapolis Indians on May 9.
On July 6, 2019, the Pirates promoted Escobar to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on July 13, striking out one batter over two scoreless innings in relief. Escobar was designated for assignment on November 20, 2019, and outrighted to AAA on November 27. Escobar was released by the Pirates organization on June 9, 2020.