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

BirdWatcher · 01-14-2019, 07:47 PM

So the season has reached August 1st and the Brewers did not make any more trades prior to the trade deadline.
Although the team remains very inconsistent, the 10 game winning streak in the middle of the month did get them back into contention, sort of. At least, with a few months left, there is no way to reasonably rule out a late push to win the pennant, even if it does seem highly unlikely at this point.

Ruben Souffront continues to disappoint. Although he has raised his batting average slightly in the past few weeks, he continues to strike out far too frequently, hit into double plays far too frequently, and although he shows decent range and a strong arm in rightfield, he remains prone to errors, and often at the worst possible moments. (Then again, with a team that lives on pitching a defense and doesn't score a lot of runs, leading to a lot of close games, most any moment is the worst possible moment.)
On the other hand, he still is under team control for one more season and there is no reason to believe at this point that his value is going to decrease in the near future. He is still young and extremely fast with a great work ethic and intelligence and what should be a somewhat above average hit package. He is just so darned inconsistent though. He also still has minor league options. My sense at this point is that he will not be with the team long-term. But for 1970 at least, whether it be in a Brewers uniform or down at AAA Chester, he will remain a member of the organization.

In a little less than 2 weeks Antonio Puente will return from the disabled list. Likely that leads to a demotion for Ruben, possibly until September 1st roster expansion.
While the Brewers did not end up being active in the trading scene prior to the deadline, the off-season could be a very different story. With the continued struggles of thirdbaseman Jared Stephenson, this is an area the team could be looking to make a move. So Souffront and Stephenson could well be on the trading block in the off-season, as well as a few decent minor league prospects who are nearly big league ready and don't have a path to the bigs for the Brewers at this time. Likely the team would be looking for good young prospects, in addition to a starting third sacker now, in any deals, as the minor league pipeline is very good at the top levels (our AAA and AA teams are dominant this year) but get pretty thin as you go down.
And with Daniel Torres under contract for just one more year and heading into his late 30's, a good lefthanded starter is going to be a priority soon as well. While the future of the starting staff is looking quite good at this point, the lack of a lefty could be a big problem especially given that we play our home games in a park that favors lefthanded hitters pretty strongly.

01-14-2019, 07:47 PM	#727
BirdWatcher Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 4,263	So the season has reached August 1st and the Brewers did not make any more trades prior to the trade deadline. Although the team remains very inconsistent, the 10 game winning streak in the middle of the month did get them back into contention, sort of. At least, with a few months left, there is no way to reasonably rule out a late push to win the pennant, even if it does seem highly unlikely at this point. Ruben Souffront continues to disappoint. Although he has raised his batting average slightly in the past few weeks, he continues to strike out far too frequently, hit into double plays far too frequently, and although he shows decent range and a strong arm in rightfield, he remains prone to errors, and often at the worst possible moments. (Then again, with a team that lives on pitching a defense and doesn't score a lot of runs, leading to a lot of close games, most any moment is the worst possible moment.) On the other hand, he still is under team control for one more season and there is no reason to believe at this point that his value is going to decrease in the near future. He is still young and extremely fast with a great work ethic and intelligence and what should be a somewhat above average hit package. He is just so darned inconsistent though. He also still has minor league options. My sense at this point is that he will not be with the team long-term. But for 1970 at least, whether it be in a Brewers uniform or down at AAA Chester, he will remain a member of the organization. In a little less than 2 weeks Antonio Puente will return from the disabled list. Likely that leads to a demotion for Ruben, possibly until September 1st roster expansion. While the Brewers did not end up being active in the trading scene prior to the deadline, the off-season could be a very different story. With the continued struggles of thirdbaseman Jared Stephenson, this is an area the team could be looking to make a move. So Souffront and Stephenson could well be on the trading block in the off-season, as well as a few decent minor league prospects who are nearly big league ready and don't have a path to the bigs for the Brewers at this time. Likely the team would be looking for good young prospects, in addition to a starting third sacker now, in any deals, as the minor league pipeline is very good at the top levels (our AAA and AA teams are dominant this year) but get pretty thin as you go down. And with Daniel Torres under contract for just one more year and heading into his late 30's, a good lefthanded starter is going to be a priority soon as well. While the future of the starting staff is looking quite good at this point, the lack of a lefty could be a big problem especially given that we play our home games in a park that favors lefthanded hitters pretty strongly.