Question: are the espada vasto lorde?
Answer: However, they are Hollow, not Arrancar. ... Espada, are by definition the top ten Arrancar. They may or many not be Vasto Lorde. It was heavily implied that of all the Espada, only the top four (Ulquiorra, Halibel, Barragan and Stark) were Vasto Lorde before they became Arrancars (and subsequently Espada).