OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

BirdWatcher · 10-03-2018, 05:34 PM

Have taken a bit of a pause in the action partly due to new player draft pool being released and wanting to take a bit of a deep dive look at that. (Will report more on that tonight, probably.) But also as I needed a bit of a breather from the frustration of this team plummeting down into mediocrity again after such a good start to the 1968 season.

Still reasons to be optimistic for the future: Ruben Souffront continues to look like a solid player, Pat Rondeau continues to, if anything, exceed expectations, Chad Brown continues to develop towards excellence in the field as a shortstop and is solid at the plate, the starting pitching staff is solid and fairly deep if not exactly spectacular, and the bullpen is mostly pretty excellent (Miguel Solis continues to be unhittable). Team defense is great as is team speed. Backup infielder Arturo Baca, re-acquired in the offseason, has been a real bright spot. And big-name free agent Ryan
Rodgers has been pretty much as advertised.

But also, there is this, which is what I find myself thinking about today: Bobby Erbakan. The young firstbaseman, currently ranked (if IRC) the 10th best prospect in the WPK, having recently turned 21 has been in something of a slump at the plate of late. But what I've also noticed is this: our scouting team has recently taken an even more optimistic view of his potential and see him as a superstar in the making. I'm taking this with a grain of salt but it is interesting to me in terms of the mysteries of player development. Erbakan was often (nearly always) unhappy (often outright angry) during his time in the minors. His numbers were usually pretty good to great, but his teams were not, and he seemed often unhappy with his role on the team. He clearly has a high view of himself and his talents as even now, as a young player scuffling at the plate on the major league team, he expects to be a starting player. But he's also happy. In terms of ratings alone, I felt that I might have rushed him to the majors. But I also felt that keeping him in the minors much longer might have soured him and stunted his progress. So here he is, showing flashes of great potential but also struggling mightily at times (while, admittedly, playing great defense) and he's happy and looks to be on track for a great career. Maybe.
Did I take the right approach, largely just on instinct? Or will I regret not getting him more seasoning at AAA? Only time will tell.
But it's the sort of mystery that makes me love this game.
And the sort of thing that I feel is part of my learning curve. One which I embrace.

10-03-2018, 05:34 PM	#367
BirdWatcher Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 4,263	Have taken a bit of a pause in the action partly due to new player draft pool being released and wanting to take a bit of a deep dive look at that. (Will report more on that tonight, probably.) But also as I needed a bit of a breather from the frustration of this team plummeting down into mediocrity again after such a good start to the 1968 season. Still reasons to be optimistic for the future: Ruben Souffront continues to look like a solid player, Pat Rondeau continues to, if anything, exceed expectations, Chad Brown continues to develop towards excellence in the field as a shortstop and is solid at the plate, the starting pitching staff is solid and fairly deep if not exactly spectacular, and the bullpen is mostly pretty excellent (Miguel Solis continues to be unhittable). Team defense is great as is team speed. Backup infielder Arturo Baca, re-acquired in the offseason, has been a real bright spot. And big-name free agent Ryan Rodgers has been pretty much as advertised. But also, there is this, which is what I find myself thinking about today: Bobby Erbakan. The young firstbaseman, currently ranked (if IRC) the 10th best prospect in the WPK, having recently turned 21 has been in something of a slump at the plate of late. But what I've also noticed is this: our scouting team has recently taken an even more optimistic view of his potential and see him as a superstar in the making. I'm taking this with a grain of salt but it is interesting to me in terms of the mysteries of player development. Erbakan was often (nearly always) unhappy (often outright angry) during his time in the minors. His numbers were usually pretty good to great, but his teams were not, and he seemed often unhappy with his role on the team. He clearly has a high view of himself and his talents as even now, as a young player scuffling at the plate on the major league team, he expects to be a starting player. But he's also happy. In terms of ratings alone, I felt that I might have rushed him to the majors. But I also felt that keeping him in the minors much longer might have soured him and stunted his progress. So here he is, showing flashes of great potential but also struggling mightily at times (while, admittedly, playing great defense) and he's happy and looks to be on track for a great career. Maybe. Did I take the right approach, largely just on instinct? Or will I regret not getting him more seasoning at AAA? Only time will tell. But it's the sort of mystery that makes me love this game. And the sort of thing that I feel is part of my learning curve. One which I embrace.