Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

[BirdWatcher]

Okay, it's getting interesting now.
A whole lotta season left, so Brewers are trying to stay level-headed and focus on one game at a time, but the vibe is very different on the club then it was during the dark days of May.

[BirdWatcher]

The Columbus Whalers' Jake Harris is one of the best pitchers in the game so it isn't really a surprise that he would pitch a no-hitter in this "year of the pitcher".

[BirdWatcher]

Outfielder Zack Banks has been languishing at AAA all season and doing so with extreme displeasure and poor performance. The Brewers had tried several times to find a deal to send him elsewhere starting in the off-season but thus far with no luck.
But now, with the trading deadline a few weeks away and teams either looking to pick up talent for the stretch run or unload salary, especially in the form of veterans who will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season, the Brewers have at long last found a trade to give Banks the opportunity to get back to the WPK in another organization.
The Brewers sent Banks (along with an insignificant minor league firstbaseman) to the Philadelphia Mud Hens for veteran lefty starting pitcher Lani Malolu. Malolu is far from being a front-line starter, but he is a lefty, which is very valuable for a team that plays their home games in a park that favors lefthanded batters, he has a great sinker and induces a good number of groundballs, which plays to the Brewers infield defense strength, and he is very good at keeping fly balls in the yard, which is something the Brewers staff sometimes struggles with (particularly Steve Alonso.)

All in all this seems to be another indication that the Brewers are serious about making a push for contention this season. With the very real fears that the recently returned from the DL Diego Ramirez could at any point suffer another injury and the decline in performance by lefthanded workhorse Alex Burley, it was felt that adding Malolu could be good insurance for the stretch run.
And although it is unlikely that the Brewers will extend Malolu beyond 1968- he is a free agent at the end of the season- it was clear that Banks no longer had a future with the Brewers so there was really very little risk involved in the deal.

[BirdWatcher]

As the team continues to yo-yo a bit (they have now lost 4 in a row to drop back from second place to fourth place in the MGL), I find myself thinking about the ages of the players on the Brewers and what that might mean for the near future.
Certainly the most veteran part of the team is the starting rotation. And while I continue to have many reservations about this group, the reality is that they are a current strength on the team (I believe they still have the 3rd best ERA in the MGL at this point.) Assuming that the 1969 squad retains pretty much the same group of starting pitchers (which might be a fair assumption, though much depends upon whether Diego Ramirez can avoid a major injury), the starting staff would have an average age of 31 during the 1969 season. Which isn't bad. Alex Burley, who might be pushed to the bullpen as a swingman/long reliever if he remains with team, would be the old man at 37. Daniel Torres and Steve Alonso are heading into their mid-30's (34 and 32, respectively), while Diego Ramirez, Abel Pennington, and Bobby Arends will all still be in their 20's during the '69 season (29,27,26.)

The bullpen, with 37-year old Chris Healey a free agent at the end of the season and the team almost surely not trying to re-sign him, looks to have an average age of 27 in the 1969 season. David Brown, the lone lefty in the mix (possible the team will ID a lefty FA to sign in the off-season), will be the old man at 34. The team's dominant duo- Miguel Solis and Jamel McNeil will be 29 and 28. Josh McEwen will likely have a role on the team- he will be 25. Kelly McTavish will be 24 and may be in the pen for much of '69. If not McTavish it would likely be the even younger Billy Tanner (22) or even Dave Harder (22/23). And surely fire-baller Armando Cruz will be there again in a set-up role, at 23 years of age.

As for the infield (including catchers), this is the youngest part of the team with an average age (given likely 25-man roster for 1969) of 24.5 or 25 years old. The oldster here would be Tanner Yurek at 28, though it is possible that the also-28 Willie Chavez will have a role at thirdbase. (Much will depend upon whether the team identifies and is able to sign a free agent thirdbaseman in the off-season, which would surely raise the average age a bit.) But with two of the key starters- shortstop Chad Brown and firstbaseman Bobby Erbakan- both only 22 in 1969, and likely a back-up catcher in his early 20's (Joey Townsend- 22 or Kevin Curtis- 23), as well as utility infielder Juan Lujan (24)-there is a lot of room for growth and development yet in the infield.

And really the outfield isn't that much more senior. Granted star centerfielder Ryan Rodgers will be 30 in 1969, but the other starters- Antonio Puente at 25, and Ruben Souffront at 24- are really still in their pre-peak years. Pat Rondeau, who spent a bit more time in the minors than some of his outfield compatriots, will be 26 in 1969, but Andrew Kennedy, likely to be with the squad as a valuable pinch-hitter, will only be 22. It is highly likely that these five will comprise the Brewers outfield in 1969 and if so the average age will be 25.4.

Point simply being that I comfort myself with the knowledge that as the team continues to show great streakiness, it is still a very young nucleus and it might not be unreasonable to expect continued development towards excellence as a group in the next 1-4 years.

[BirdWatcher]

And isn't that just the way: your team breaks out for 9 runs while your pitching staff- ranked among the best in the league- allows the opponents 10.
What a frustrating game!

[BirdWatcher]

And, the very next game, great pitching performance by your starter, followed by 2 tremendous innings of relief by your veteran lefty reliever, and your team scores a grand total of.... zero runs. And loses 1-0 in 12 innings.

I'm starting to think a real pattern is emerging here with these Brewers. They will toy with our emotions by playing like an actually talented team for weeks at a time, only to then drop back down to the mediocrity they can rightfully claim.

Do I sound a little frustrated? Yeah, so very much.

I'm starting to think I just don't know what I'm doing here.
Must have patience.

[BirdWatcher]

Well, I guess that wasn't meant to be. Second start for recently acquired veteran starting pitcher Lani Malolu and he leaves with an injury in the first inning. Needs elbow ligament reconstruction surgery. Out 14 months. That was a short loaner.

And in the process the Brewers drop 3-straight to the first place Detroit Falcons (each loss by just one run), suffer their 8th loss in the last 9 games, drop to 2 games over .500 and sixth place in the MGL.
Things are not looking good.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers get a big win in the first game of a three-game set at home against the second-place Portland Wild Things, largely on the strength of great pitching from staff ace Daniel Torres and reliever Jamel McNeil, but also with the bulk of the offense coming from the current hottest hitter on the team, Pat Rondeau.
With both Antonio Puente and Ruben Souffront in prolonged cold spells at the plate (Puente's has been basically season-long), and even Ryan Rodgers a bit chilly of late, Rondeau is getting a good amount of playing time and he's looking to prove that he deserves even more. In addition to two big hits on the night, Rondeau also made some fine catches in rightfield and threw out a runner on the base-paths.

Perhaps as some indication of what other teams think of Rondeau's potential, he is mentioned in pretty much every trade offer that comes the Brewers' way, and now, with the trade deadline looming, the team has received the first truly interesting offer for Rondeau that they don't feel they can just shoot down without deliberation.
The Jacksonville Wolf Pack are offering 25-year old Jared Stephenson, an All-Star last season and the 1965 World Series MVP. He's not superstar level but he might be exactly the kind of upgrade the team is looking for at thirdbase, and he's young, a good teammate, a solid defender, and a solidly above average hitter. And even though his pure speed grades out as poor, his stolen base and base running abilities mesh nicely with the team's approach. In addition to Rondeau the Wolf Pack are asking for a decent catching prospect currently down at single A Bainbridge- Justin Curasone. While Curasone certainly has potential as a plus defender and possibly decent contact hitter, his eye and ability to avoid striking out both look to project as being quite sub-par. He's a hard worker, granted, but at this point there are at least 2 catchers ahead of him in the system with equivalent potential, and 1 coming up behind him who could develop into a major leaguer. Curasone is not a deal breaker.

But Rondeau? In spite of his pure talent and great character, our scouting staff does not consider him likely to take over from our current three outfield starters. And he's actually older than both Puente and Souffront. On a purely logical level this deal probably makes sense, even as it stands now without negotiation. (And, if we do consider this, there will be negotiation.) This might be my first great hurdle in terms of having to make a decision about a player I really, really like and don't want to part with.

Looks like I'll be sleeping on this one.

[BirdWatcher]

Having slept on it, I am convinced that I need to at least discuss a possible trade with Jacksonville for Stephenson.
They are likely motivated to trade him as a budding superstar (Jesus Casiano) has emerged at that position for them and Stephenson is getting little playing time and has little value to them at this point. And although his performance has suffered this season, at his age and with his talent profile he should be at least a slightly above average thirdbaseman for several years to come.
The other reality is that the only legitimate thirdbase prospect we have at this point is Jose Careaga, who likely needs at least one more full minor league season before joining the Brewers and whose potential doesn't look to be any better than Stephenson's current skill level and probably even a bit lower.

Having said that, I hope to find a way to swing this deal without giving up Rondeau. Although I recognize that in the long run I may need to deal Rondeau, I would like to keep him around for at least one more season as some of our younger outfield prospects move up through the minors. Plus, where the Brewers used to be a little left-handed batter heavy, the shift right now is to being unbalanced in the other direction. And our two best left-handed hitters- Tanner Yurek (currently on the DL and out for at least 5 weeks with a hamstring injury) and Antonio Puente- are both having very poor seasons at the plate. Rondeau is our best left-handed bat currently.

So I find myself contemplating offering up Jamel McNeil in this deal instead of Rondeau. And while as a reliever he is relatively less valuable perhaps in trade, he does remain one of the most talented, if not the most talented, closers in the game. Depending upon how I put together the package, I suspect Jacksonville might go for this. McNeil has been alternating between being unhittable and blowing saves and of course, as discussed previously, is a disruptive force in the clubhouse. But his loss will hurt the Brewers bullpen. With a good deal of relief talent coming up through the ranks it will hopefully be a short-term hurt. And if Stephenson helps the offense score more runs it might be a good trade-off.

The other thought is offering up starting pitcher Diego Ramirez, whose injury-proneness counter-balances his pure talent (which is probably the best on the staff). With the loss of Malolu to season-ending injury, the staff is thin at this point. So that could be problematic and would require that everyone else stay healthy the rest of the season.

Push come to shove, it's possible I let go of Rondeau for Stephenson. I really hope it doesn't come to that though.

[BirdWatcher]

So after long negotiations and much deliberation, a deal was struck.
And Pat Rondeau remains in a Brewers uniform while closer Jamel McNeil moves on to Jacksonville in exchange for thirdbaseman Jared Stephenson.
A number of prospects also changed teams in the deal as well as veteran thirdbaseman Roy Hugo, who was briefly, and not terribly successfully, a Brewer this season.

The Brewers prospects traded to Jacksonville- outfielder Dave Manning and catcher Johnny Samson- both still have some potential but neither was felt to have much of a path to the majors with the Denver organization.
The three prospects received from Jacksonville in the trade are not considered premium prospects, but all three have the potential to someday play some role in the majors and were thought worth taking a chance on.
Leftfielder Ramon Lopez fits an organizational profile as a plus defender with blazing speed and a strong work ethic and could develop just enough offensive skill to fill a back-up role with the Brewers in the future. 21-year old starting pitcher, and Trinidad, Colorado native, Eric Johnson will need to develop quite a bit to ever have a major league role but he is considered a very intelligent young man and is projected to have very good control of four pitches that profile as average to well above average. He's a long shot but he's mostly pitched pretty well in the minors and could surprise. 21-year old relief pitcher Cole Loomis is probably most likely to make any major league impact, particularly if his fastball and slider both develop into the plus pitches they are projected to be eventually and his stuff proves to be as good as hoped. He will likely always struggle with control issues which might hold him back from holding a high leverage role but he could be an adequate middle reliever in the WPK someday.

But perhaps the most obvious off-set to the loss of the clearly highly talented Jamel McNeil will be the gains in clubhouse unity. There are already signs that the players are breathing a sigh of relief to have the unlikable McNeil gone from their midst.

[BirdWatcher]

After going through a rough patch playing against the top two MGL teams- the Detroit Falcons and the Portland Wild Things- to end the month of July and having fallen back to only a game over .500, the Brewers are getting healthy again against the MGL bottom-feeders (Brooklyn Aces and Oklahoma City Diamond Kings, both of whom the Brewers have completely dominated this season) and the team returns to 6 games over .500.
The Brewers get a great start from veteran lefty Alex Burley, who at 37 years of age has had a rough season, to claim their fifth straight win.
Recently acquired thirdbaseman Jared Stephenson had the big hit- a 6th inning 3-run HR to put the Brewers up 4-0.
The team also got a good game from superstar centerfielder Ryan Rodgers, who had been slumping a bit at the plate for the past few weeks.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers get win number 7 in a row with some big help from Jared Stephenson, who collects his 3rd HR in 3 games, and Antonio Puente, who homers twice after having not hit a homerun since June 2nd.

Rumor has it that the team is currently in talks with Stephenson on a contract extension. Stephenson is arbitration eligible at the end of the season but it is thought that the team is trying to tie him up for at least another three seasons.

[BirdWatcher]

Jared Stephenson is certainly giving the Brewers what they hoped for from him: solid defense at third and a power right-handed bat in the lineup. Stephenson has now homered in four straight games, and in this one he did so twice.
The Brewers, who continue to be a streaky team, now have won 8 in a row.

[BirdWatcher]

Their winning streak having ended at 8, the Brewers drop the first 3 of 4 against the now first place Phoenix Speed Devils.
But they found a way to win game 4, with great performances from Antonio Puente, who is showing some signs of coming out of his nearly season-long slump, and Pat Rondeau, who has been one of the bright spots for the team pretty much all season.
Rondeau chipped in with a 3 for 5 day hitting in the lead-off slot, including picking up his 11th double and 9th triple of the season.
Bobby Erbakan also continues to be one of the most consistently solid players on the team and he was 2 for 4 with his 11th double and 2 RBI. Erbakan also continues to shine defensively at first. He leads the team in RBI with 43 and HR's with 8.

[BirdWatcher]

We haven't talked much about Ruben Souffront lately. Which I suppose might be some kind of clue.
After having started the season pretty well, Ruben has really struggled at the plate, and at times also in the field, these past few months.
He is still among the team leaders in HR's with 6, and he has stolen 20 bases while only being caught 5 times.
But his strikeouts to walk ratio continues to get worse and he just isn't putting the bat on the ball often enough.
At this point the plan likely for the rest of the season is for Rondeau to take over in rightfield on days where a right-handed starting pitcher is on the mound against the Brewers. Souffront will continue to start against lefties and get the occasional start against a righty as well as being available off the bench for pinch-hitting and pinch-running duties. Hopefully Ruben won't consider this too much of a demotion and a little breather might rejuvenate him.

[BirdWatcher]

A quick update on the WPK standings as we approach mid-August.
In the SJL, the Columbus Whalers, who were predicted prior to the season by many to represent the SJL in the World Series, have indeed risen to the top and have a solid 7 game lead on the perennially strong Jacksonville Wolf Pack. The MGL has divided pretty neatly now into a six-team first division and a 4-team second division. First place has been hotly contested most of the season with, at various times, the Detroit Falcons, the Portland Wild Things, and the Phoenix Speed Devils, residing there. Currently it is the Portland club that holds that honor, but only by a mere 1/2 game over Phoenix and 1 over Detroit. While the Brewers sit at the bottom of the first division, they are a mere 5 games behind Portland while there is a 9-game gap between them and the next team in the standings, the slumping Los Angeles Spinners.
It should be an interesting stretch-run in the MGL this season.

(Just noticed what I hadn't noticed before- the poor Charlotte Sting, who had been playing pretty well earlier in the season, have now dropped back down to their usual spot near the bottom with a losing streak at 13 and counting. Ouch.)

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers bats come alive in a big way against one of the better left-handed starters in the league (Reece Vaughan, who led the MGL in strikeouts in 1966 and in WHIP in 1967) and get an easy 10-2 victory at Oklahoma City.

[BirdWatcher]

The same day that it was announced that Jared Stephenson had signed a three-year renewal of his contract with the Denver Brewers (for a bit over 355K altogether), he gave Brewers fans ample reason to rejoice as he collected 5 hits in a 13-7 extra-inning victory over the L.A. Spinners in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader.
After 2 tough losses at L.A., the Brewers took both games of the doubleheader, and needed extra frames for each. The big hit in the first game was a Grand Slam by backup firstbaseman Sam Oakley which keyed the 6-run top of the 12th inning.
Game 2 went 14 innings- a Ryan Rodgers triple key in the 2-run inning that put the Brewers on top for good.

With the doubleheader sweep, the Brewers are back within 4 1/2 games of first place, even though they remain in 5th place.

[BirdWatcher]

While it is early days still, so far it appears that the trade that sent Jamel McNeil to Jacksonville and brought the Brewers thirdbaseman Jared Stephenson was a good one for Denver.
Not only has Stephenson played very well, providing excellent defense at third and a surprising amount of power, but the bullpen has remained steady, if not quite as dominant as earlier, the team is scoring more runs, winning more games, and the clubhouse chemistry has skyrocketed to a level of ecstatic happiness.

The strength of the Brewers remains pitching as the club is tied for 3rd in the MGL in fewest runs allowed, has the 3rd best starters ERA and the 4th best bullpen ERA.
In terms of offense the Brewers are now 7th in runs scored and OBP, and 8th in HR's and batting average. These don't sound very impressive in the context of a 10-team league, but given that much of the season we were at the very bottom or next-to-last in all of the categories indicates movement in the right direction.

Some pleasant surprises: back-up infielder Juan Lujan, who was brought up to the majors from AA earlier this summer due to hamstring injuries that put both starting second-baseman Tanner Yurek and back-up Arturo Baca on the DL (within a week of each other), has impressed with the glove and lately has been very good at the plate as well. Lujan (.256/.291/.273, 0.7 WAR) looks likely to remain on the team to provide defensive back-up at shortstop, secondbase, and thirdbase in the 1969 season.
Rookie firstbaseman Bobby Erbakan has been one of the most consistent bats and defenders on the team this season. Erbakan (.246/.292/.377, 3.1 WAR) has shown indications of good power potential as he is tied for the HR lead on team (with the resurgent Antonio Puente) at 8, is 3rd in doubles with 13 and 3rd in triples with 7, and leads the team in RBI with 44. He still has quite a bit of room for improvement at the plate and he has struck out 101 times while walking only 15 times, but hopes are high for his future.
Pat Rondeau also continues to impress at the plate and in the field, at all 3 outfield positions. Rondeau (.263/.280/.364, 2.7 WAR) is second on the team in triples with 9, has hit 12 doubles, and is third in stolen bases with 15 (caught 7 times.)
Among pitchers, one standout surprise has been the solid performance of veteran lefty Chris Healy, who has quietly put up very fine numbers. Healy (2-3-0, 1.14 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) gives the team a good multi-inning middle relief option and is great at inducing groundballs, which with our infield defense is a real plus. In spite of his advanced age, it is thought that the team is seriously considering bringing him back for at least one more season.

Biggest Disappointments: Tanner Yurek, currently on the DL and with recovery time unknown, after having put up career numbers in the 1967 season, has really struggled in 1968. Yurek (.170/.252/.289, 0.6 WAR) has not only suffered at the plate but hasn't been great in the field either (-4.4 ZR, 11 errors). Yurek, who is signed through the 1973 season and is a fan favorite, is still expected to play a key role in the Brewers future, but with both Arturo Baca and Juan Lujan showing good skills at second and with a future possible star in the low minors (Jonathan Koch), Yurek will need to return to form in 1969 or his place on the team might be in doubt.

It's been fairly well established here that All-Star leftfielder Antonio Puente has had a disappointing 1968 season at the plate. Puente (.222/.325/.367, 3.6 WAR) has been showing some signs of life lately, but approaching September he has still hit only 8 HR's. For a player who has averaged a little over 29 HR's per season in his career, this is a pretty anemic number. He does have 17 doubles, which puts him on pace for an average or slightly above average seasonal number for him, and given his continued excellent defense he remains the position player with the second highest WAR on the team. But the team needs him to get his power swing back and soon if they hope to contend.

[BirdWatcher]

"The vibe's good. We've got to keep it going." Couldn't have said it better myself.
Or, well, I guess I did say it.