Lake Buena Vista, Fla.— The heartiest laughter in the early part of Braves camp came when some Braves players and team officials saw a Web site scouting report that characterized Yunel Escobar as a glorified utility infielder who "peaked" as a major-leaguer in 2007.

The rifle-armed Cuban hit .326 with 30 extra-base hits (five homers) in 319 at-bats last season, his first in the majors. It convinced Braves officials he could replace veteran shortstop Edgar Renteria without much dropoff, if any.

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Yunel Escobar comes into camp determined to better his game as the Braves' new shortstop. The 25-year-old Cuban hit .326 last season.

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Renteria was traded to Detroit in November. Now the curtain is raised on the Escobar Era, which the Braves expect to be much longer and more illustrious than does the person who wrote that Web site scouting report.

"For me, he could make the All-Star team," Braves manager Bobby Cox said of Escobar, 25. "He has tremendous hands, range, and a tremendous arm. He's not going to steal a lot of bases, probably, but he can run.

"He can hit for average, and if he wants to, he can hit for power."

He was brought to the majors on Memorial Day weekend and hit .344 in 74 games after June 24, including .350 with a .441 on-base percentage and .553 slugging percentage in his final 34 games.

"Escobar is one of the best players I've ever seen," Braves catcher Brian McCann said. "What he did last year was phenomenal. That wasn't a fluke. He's the real deal.

"He can make every play on the field. I think next year at this time, everybody will be talking about putting him in the class of [Florida shortstop] Hanley Ramirez and those guys," McCann added.

Escobar spent much of the winter working out with Renteria in Miami. Four days a week, they hit for two hours in the morning and lifted weights for two hours.

Escobar reported to spring training at 215 pounds, up 12 from last season. His already muscular arms and back are thicker, and he wants to hit more doubles and home runs, and steal more bases (five in '07) if he bats leadoff.

"He's strong," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "He looks good."

Escobar said the winter workouts were intense, that Renteria made sure of it.

"Edgar says, 'What's up, bro? You're good, and you can be better,' " said Escobar, explaining how the veteran stressed to keep working on every area of his game, including concentration in the field on every pitch.

Renteria doesn't make a lot of spectacular plays, but makes all the routine ones. Escobar, like former Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal, made plenty of flashy plays, but occasionally booted a routine grounder or made a poor throw.

"I'm going to be 100 percent concentrated, because I know how important shortstop is for the ballclub," said Escobar, using bilingual catcher Brayan Pena, a fellow Cuban, to translate for part of an interview Friday.

Escobar answered some questions without aid. He's working on English (third baseman Chipper Jones said there was no problem communicating on the field).

"I'm going to try to do the same job as Edgar did," Escobar said. "But in my mind, I've got to work harder to be the best player I can be."

The Braves could miss Renteria's leadership and selfless approach in the No. 2 spot in the lineup. If they make the playoffs, they might miss his proven performance in pressure-filled situations.

However, Escobar demonstrated a knack for big hits and plays in late innings, albeit not in big-league postseason games. No one who saw it will soon forget how he stole second base in a game at Arizona when All-Star closer Jose Valverde bent over to stretch and briefly took his mind off the baserunner.

"I'm not worried about him at all," Jones said of Escobar taking over for Renteria. Then he repeated, "At all."

Teammates are big believers in the quiet, confident Cuban. They have been since that day in June, when Escobar was called from Class AAA Richmond and arrived at Chicago's Wrigley Field 90 minutes before his first game.

He singled in his first at-bat and hit a winning double in the eighth inning.

In a postgame interview he said: "I've always had a lot of confidence in myself. It's just the game of baseball. ... That's what I came up here to do."

Hitting coach Terry Pendleton believes he'll do it for a long time.

"I think he can be a .300 hitter in this league, no doubt in my mind," Pendleton said. "He can be an Edgar Renteria, possibly with more power. He has a good idea of the strike zone, and he's aggressive in it.

"He might have to make adjustments this year as [pitchers] make adjustments to him, but he can hit. It showed last year, when he went against some teams a second and third time last year."

It's a game, but it's also serious business for Escobar, who defected from Cuba four years ago. Influential Miamians helped him get his father and younger sister out of Cuba a year ago, and last summer he finally got his mother out.

The family is together in Miami, and Escobar is focused on one thing.

"I know my opportunity would get here," he said. "Now I've got the opportunity. I want to make the most of it."