Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

[BirdWatcher]

One bit of drama this past week occurred in Game 1 of the double-header at Los Angeles. In his first game back at L.A. since being traded from there to Denver just over a month ago, Steve Alonso hit L.A. secondbaseman Dave Lopez with a pitch with two outs in the bottom of the 4th. Lopez charged the mound, Alonso happily received him there and a bench-clearing brawl commenced. Only Alonso and Lopez received suspensions as a result of the brouhaha: Lopez for 4 games, Alonso for 6. The Brewers ended up losing the game 2-1 but, perhaps fired up a bit, did take the second game of the twin-bill to put an end to their long losing streak.

[BirdWatcher]

It seems I missed the Who's Hungover? portion of the posting for the most recent week of play.
Sorry.
Basically, I guess it's pretty clear that the entire team is pretty hungover. But the player I meant to focus on is star leftfielder, Antonio Puente, who has gone cold at the plate of late. Puente (.275/.353/.467, 3.1 WAR) went 2 for 14 in the partial week after the All-Star break, scoring just 1 run (41), driving in nary a run (48), picking up his 13th double of the season, while walking just once (36) and striking out 5 times (62.)

[BirdWatcher]

With any hopes of contending this season rapidly vanishing, the Brewers pulled off a big trade in an effort to both acquire pitching prospects and put themselves in a bit of a better economic position heading into the off-season. The Brewers traded 5 players, including current bullpen mainstay David Windecker, and one of their better minor league relief pitching prospects, Chris Martin to the Milwaukee Cadets for 5 minor leaguers, including two top prospects in righthanded starting pitcher Rob Ibarra (7th pick overall in 1965 draft) and lefty reliever Mark "The Natural" Amundson (25th overall in 1966 draft.)
Although Windecker had the potential to become a key late-innings component of the Brewers bullpen, and has been one of the most consistent performers this season, there were concerns about his negative influence in the clubhouse (selfish) and long-term (granted he is only 19 and still under team control for four more years) were not thrilled with reports that he displays high greediness and low team loyalty. Plus, the Brewers have several top prospects coming up the system who could be strong future members of the Denver pen.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers management is particularly intrigued by Amundson, about whom there seems to be much mystery still but whom many think has top-tier potential.
In addition, for more short-term needs, the Brewers think that 22-year old righty Josh McEwen, who is already at this young age quite respected for his leadership skills, could provide solid bullpen (and even emergency starter) help in the next few seasons.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: July 18th- July 24th, 1966
The Brewers long slide towards the bottom of the Moonlight Graham League continues with a 2 win, 5 loss week. The Brewers drop the third game of a three-game series against the L.A. Spinners, then lose 2 of 3 to both Oklahoma City and Phoenix, these last 2 series being played in Denver. As has become a trend, most of the losses are in close games. The largest margin of victory for a Denver foe this week was 3 runs (they lost games of 5-2, 6-3, and 4-1.) And 2 of the other losses in the week were decided in extra innings and were games that the Brewers led most of the way. But a loss is a loss and the losses continue to mount.

Who's Hoppy? Not much to report here, of course. But once again the Brewers get a fine start from Joey Brown in their best win of the week, a 3-1 victory over Phoenix. Brown (7-5, 3.31) worked 8 innings of 5-hit, 1-run ball, walking 3 while striking out 5.

Who's Hungover? Many, but the most significant is still Antonio Puente (.262/.342/.450 3.0 WAR) who was just 2 for 22 on the week, scoring 2 runs (43), driving in 2 (50), hitting his 13th HR of the season, drawing 3 bases-on-balls (39) while striking out 6 times (68.)

What's Brewing Around the League? At this stage of the season, both league champions from last season are on top again. Jacksonville leads the Shoeless Joe League with a 58-41 record. They are followed closely by Columbus (who finished 8th in 1965) at 58-43 with San Antonio in 3rd place at 56-46 (the Keys finished in 6th place in '65.) Los Angeles is now 64-33 as they continue to dominate. Portland remains a solid 2nd with a 56-41 record (Portland finished in last place in 1965!), and Phoenix currently holds onto 3rd place with a mark of 52-44 (the Speed Devils finished 3rd in '65.)

The Streak Souffront Saga: Ruben Souffront continues to play well for the AAA Chester Big Stick (.333/.413/.454, 0.7 WAR) and hopes to be helping out the big league club before too long. Then again, he is currently on a team in first place with a 60-34 record, he may be enjoying winning, even if it isn't at the level he would prefer to be playing at.

Brewers Power Ranking: #16 (#1 L.A., #2 JAC, #3 S.A., #4 POR, #4 PHO.)
Brewers Record: 45-53, .459, 8th place in the MGL, 19 1/2 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

And with the trade deadline approaching and any reasonable evaluation of the Brewers situation making it clear that any dreams of contention the team was holding onto just a month ago have now evaporated completely, the team leadership decided to pull the trigger on another big trade.
With three veteran players up for free agency in the off-season, and it being unlikely that the Brewers will sign even one of them, it was time to see what prospects could be gained by trading them.
The toughest decision of all was letting veteran reliever Ron Poblano go. Poblano is a true gentleman who is very popular with both players and fans alike and was a huge factor in the team's relative success in the 1965 season. Poblano, in fact, finished second in the post-season voting for the MGL Reliever-of-the-Year award to the Spinners excellent (and both feared and hated) Jamel McNeil. But at his age and with his declining effectiveness this season the Brewers were convinced it would be unwise to extend his contract and they wanted to get something to compensate his loss.
So, packaged with veteran RF/1B-man Justin Schumann (who just this past week played quite well, including hitting an inside-the-park-homerun) plus a veteran catcher they had earlier signed as a FA to a minor league contract, a young OF'er they just received a few days prior in the Windecker trade, and a young shortstop who is a marginal prospect at best (plus 15,000 in cash), they sent Poblano to Brooklyn for four minor league prospects and one young major league 1b-man. The biggest prize in the bunch may be 19-year old righthanded reliever Dave Harder, who not only looks like he may be a fine major league set-up man but is a Denver native (one of the priorities the owner has given us.) First baseman Franklin Jimenez provides a right-handed bat off the bench and can platoon with left-handed hitter Erik Shelton at first base. 19-year old reliever Billy Tanner joins the bullpen now and hopefully will provide a bit of middle-inning depth down the stretch.

With this trade, the Brewers are down to just one man on the major league club who is eligible to be a free agent at the end of the season: Joey Brown. It is unclear what the team intends to do about Brown but there seem to be no indications that they are looking to trade him prior to the trading deadline.

[BirdWatcher]

Another result of the recent moves by the Brewers front office is that they went from being in the red in terms of current payroll and having a small amount of money left for extensions to having $33,103 in cash on hand and $175,420 earmarked for extensions.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: July 25th-July 31st, 1966.
The Brewers won 3 games this week while losing 4. They dropped 2 of 3 to the first place Los Angeles Spinners and then split a 4-game series at Charlotte against the 9th place Sting.

Who's Hoppy? Soon to be 20-year old shortstop Chad Brown (.261/.303/.352, 0.7 WAR) got hot at the plate this week as he went 10 for 23, scoring 1 run (49), driving in 3 (21), hitting his 22nd double of the season and picking up steal number 13. Although he also committed a handful of errors this week to boost his season total to 23 (he committed 43 errors in 1965), he also continues to show great defensive talent and has the potential to win a Gold Glove after he matures a bit.

Who's Hungover? Defensive specialist and multi-positional back-up Jose Bravo (..195/.271/.276, 0.2 WAR) continues to struggle at the plate. He picked up 2 singles in 17 AB's this week, scoring 1 run (15) and striking out 3 times (42, to 18 BB's). He was also caught stealing once and is now 5 for 7 in stolen base attempts.

What's Brewing Around the League? Reigning league champs Jacksonville (SJL) and Los Angeles (MGL) continue to dominate and are stretching out their leads heading into August. Jacksonville is now on an eleven game winning streak and leads the SJL by 5 games over Columbus (61-47) and 6 1/2 ahead of both Pittsburgh (58-47) and San Antonio (59-48). Los Angeles is now 67-36 to take a 7 1/2 game lead over Portland (60-44.) Baltimore is in a distant third place at 12 games behind (56-49.) Jacksonville's star young leftfielder, Travis Johnson, is currently leading all of the WPK in batting average at .398.

The Streak Souffront Saga: Ruben continued to do well in AAA (.331/.401/.465, 0.9 WAR) and with updated reports delivered by the scouting staff as July ended, it was decided by the Brewers front office that it was time to bring Souffront back up to the big league club. Defensive standout Andy Wing, who shows very little ability at the plate, was demoted to Chester to make room for Souffront.

Brewers Power Ranking: #14 (#1 JAC, #2 L.A., #3 POR, #4 PIT, #5 S.A.)
Brewers Record: 48-57, .457, 8th place MGL, 20 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: August 1st-August 7th, 1966
The Brewers split a 4-game series at Oklahoma City and took 2 of 3 from Detroit at home.

Who's Hoppy? Antonio Puente (.274/.365/.519, 4.5 WAR) won MGL Player-of-the-Week honors with a 9 for 17 performance, hitting 6 HR's, driving in 14 runs (68), scoring 6 (53). Chad Brown (.273/.311/.367, 1.1 WAR) also got August off on a good start, going 13 for 31 with 4 runs scored (53), 3 RBI (28), 2 doubles (24), 1 triple (4), and 2 stolen bases (15).

Who's Hungover? Joey Brown (7-6, 3.92) has his second bad start in a row as he lasts just 4 1/3rd innings, allowing 7 runs on 11 hits, allowing 2 HR's, walking 1 and striking out 3. Centerfielder Zack Banks (.237/.294/.374, 1.2 WAR) is in a bit of a slump, having collected just 3 hits in 22 AB's on the week, scoring 1 run (40), driving in 1 (35), hitting his 12th double of the season.

What's Brewing Around the League? No big changes in the standings as Jacksonville remains atop the SJL with a 68-44 record, followed by Pittsburgh at 64-49 and Columbus in third with a 64-52 mark. Los Angeles, as ever, remains the leader in the MGL at 69-42. Portland has won 6 straight and 8 of the last 10 and has closed the gap to 3 games (66-45) and Baltimore remains in third place at 61-50.
In individual performances of note, Jacksonville's Travis Johnson has a 20-game hit streak going and is now hitting .400 for the season.

The Streak Souffront Saga: In his first week back with the big league club, Ruben Souffront continued his hit and miss ways. More miss than hit. He collected 3 hits in 14 AB's, including his 3rd HR and his 7th double of the season, and did drive in 5 runs (19), but he also struck out 6 times (44). Ruben also stole one base (9) but then also picked up his 7th caught stealing on the very next pitch when he tried to steal home and was easily tagged out. But at this point the team seems to be committed to letting him develop at the major league and if he should fail there are some fine rightfield prospects coming up the system who might be able to take his place in a few seasons.

Brewers Power Ranking: #12 (#1 POR, #2 JAC, #3 PIT, #4 S.F., #5 L.A.)
Brewers Record: 52-60, .464, 8th place in the MGL, 17 1/2 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

Some bad news for the L.A. Spinners today as the ace of their staff, Miguel Chavez, suffered a strained PCL while running the bases yesterday and will be out at least 3 weeks. Chavez, one of the most well-liked and respected players in the league, is expected to be available for the stretch run of the season but his temporary absence possibly opens a bit of an opportunity for the red-hot Portland Wild Things to pass the Spinners in the standings prior to that. The Wild Things, who next face our Denver Brewers in a four-game series in Portland, have won 9 of their last 10 and now trail the recently struggling (3-7 in their last 10) Spinners by just 2 1/2 games.

[BirdWatcher]

Meanwhile, in the SJL, Jacksonville Wolf Pack star leftfielder Travis Johnson continues his assault on pitchers, extending his hitting streak to 25 games. Johnson is now hitting .408 as we head into mid-August and seems intent on putting his name in the WPK record books.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: August 8th-August 14th, 1966
The Brewers take 2 of 3 from Brooklyn at Brooklyn, then go to Portland to meet the red-hot (2nd place) Wild Things, who win the first three games followed by a narrow 7-5 Brewers victory to avoid the sweep.

Who's Hoppy? Antonio Puente (.276/.372/.512, 4.8 WAR) continues to emerge as the best player on the Brewers and has an 8 for 26 week, scoring 6 runs (59), driving in 3 (71), picking up his 22nd HR of the year, walking 7 times (58), and getting his 10th stolen base of the year (and his 4th time caught stealing.)
Two rookies also had great weeks and continue to provide solid play: 1B/OF Erik Shelton (.262/.317/.408, 0.7 WAR) was 10 for 26, scoring 3 times (34), driving in 1 run (24), hitting his 10th double and his 5th HR. Leftfielder Tom O'Donnell (.281/.319/.406, 0.5 WAR), although not great defensively and weak-armed, continues to show advanced skills at the plate. He was 8 for 19 on the week, scored 4 times (14), drove in 5 (19), hit his 3rd triple and 2nd HR.

Who's Hungover? Veteran thirdbaseman A.J. White, who has basically been hot at the plate all season, found himself in a slump this past week. White (.307/.424/.403, 3.9 WAR) went 1 for 19 with 4 runs scored (50), 5 walks (67) but also 5 strikeouts (38).

What's Brewing Around the League: Jacksonville remains atop the SJL with a 71-48 record. Pittsburgh is in second place at 66-53. The surging Washington Night Train are now tied with Columbus for third at 67-56 each. In the MGL, Los Angeles maintains a narrow lead over Portland. L.A. is 74-44, Portland 72-47. Baltimore holds on to a distant third place at 64-53.

The Streak Souffront Saga: Much the same for Ruben (.224/.252/.311, -0.9 WAR) as he shows moments of great potential surrounded by general failure. He went 3 for 18 on the week, scoring twice (20) driving in 2 (21), hitting his 8th double and 2nd triple but also striking out 5 times (49).

Brewers Power Ranking: #13 (#1 L.A., #2 POR, #3 JAC, #4 WAS, #5 BAL)
Brewers Record: 55-64, .462, 8th place MGL, 19 1/2 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: August 15th-August 21st, 1966.
The Brewers go 3-4 on the week, losing 2 of 3 to the 3rd place Baltimore Lords, and splitting a 4-game series against the 9th place Charlotte Sting.

Who's Hoppy? Young outfielder Tom O'Donnell (.293/.325/.440, 0.9 WAR) continues to impress at the plate, going 7 for 18 on the week, scoring 3 runs (17), hitting 2 HR's (4), and driving in 4 runs (24.)
Middle reliever (and occasional closer) Bill Roache (0-5, 9svs, 4.43), who was so impressive in 1965 but has struggled this season, had a nice week, appearing in 3 games, allowing no runs on just 1 hit in 2 1/3rd IP, with 4 K (35) and no BB (12).

Who's Hungover? Another rough week for young centerfielder Zack Banks (.235/.289/.364, 1.3 WAR). He did hit his 8th homerun of the season (inside-the-park) but he was only 3 for 23, scored 1 run (43), drove in 2 (40), while striking out 7 times (68) and walking not once (25).

What's Brewing Around the League? No significant changes. Jacksonville remains in first in the SJL (77-49), Columbus is second (72-57) and Washington is in third (71-58.) In the Moonlight Graham League, Los Angeles (naturally) is in first place (80-45), Portland is still in second (75-50), while Baltimore holds off to distant third (68-56.)

The Streak Souffront Saga: Much of the same for Ruben Souffront (.228/.257/.327, -0.8 WAR). Ruben was 4 for 13 at the plate, hitting double number 9 and homerun number 4, scoring once (21) and driving in one (22), while walking just once (10) and striking out 5 times (54.)

Brewer's Power Ranking: #14 (#1 L.A., #2 JAC, #3 COL, #4 POR, #5 WAS.)
Brewer's Record: 58-68, .460, 8th place in MGL, 22 1/2 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: August 22nd- August 28th, 1966
The Brewers break even during the week, losing 2 of 3 to the San Francisco Velocity and then winning 2 of 3 against the Brooklyn Aces (all at home.) It was an interesting week as the Brewers got very little offense in the series against San Francisco, winning by 1-0 score, losing 2-0 the following day, and dropping the third game 6-2. Then the got great offense in the series against the Aces and nearly had a 3-game sweep as they were leading in the middle-game of the series 9-6 going into the 9th inning only to see the bullpen blow the lead and the Brewers fall 10-9. In the two wins against Brooklyn the scores were 12-4 and 10-0.

Who's Hoppy? Two starting pitchers had great games this week: Steve Alonso (14-6, 2.57) started the week with a 2-hit, CG shutout of San Francisco in the 1-0 win. Alonso struck out 6 (154) and walked 3 (46). In spite of often pitching poorly in the past month, Alonso has now earned wins in his last 5 starts. Joey Brown (9-7, 3.61) pitched the last game of the week and outdid Alonso, as he pitched a CG, 1-hit shutout, walking only 1 batter (34) while striking out 8 (75) in a 10-0 Brewers victory. Many Brewers hitters had fine weeks at the plate, especially in the last 3 games, but Antonio Puente (.277/.372/.529, 5.3 WAR) continues to be the team MVP. He had a solid 6 for 19 week, scoring 1 run (66), driving in 5 (82), hitting his 26th and 27th HR's, while walking twice (64) and striking out once (87.)

Who's Hungover? Not much to report here this week, but Alex Burley (8-12, 3.01), who has been the Brewer's ace much of the season, did have his worst start of the season, lasting just 4 1/3rd innings, allowing 6 runs, all earned, on 9 hits, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts. Burley allowed 2 HR's in the game. The bullpen, ranked last in the MGL, also continued to struggle, pitching 8 innings, allowing 6 runs (all earned) on 5 hits and 6 walks, giving up 2 HR's, while also striking out 9 batters. Of the pitchers currently in the bullpen, only Armando Cruz (4-1, 7 saves, 2.50 ERA) has an ERA under 4.50.

What's Brewing Around the League? The Jacksonville Wolf Pack are again on a rampage, winning 9 of their last 10 and at 83-50 they now have an 8-game lead over their nearest competitors (Columbus, 76-59.) Pittsburgh (72-60) and Washington (73-61) are each 10 1/2 games behind the leaders. In the Moonlight Graham League, L.A. maintains their dominance at 84-48, which puts them 4 1/2 games ahead of Portland (79-52) and 10 games ahead of Baltimore (73-57.) Travis Johnson of the Jacksonville club is now hitting .408 for the season!

The Streak Souffront Saga: Ruben (.231/.261/.325, -0.8 WAR) was a bit better this week at the plate, getting 4 hits in 14 AB's, scoring once (22), drawing one base on balls (11) while striking out 4 times (58.)

Brewer's Power Ranking: #13 (#1 JAC, #2 L.A., #3 POR, #4 COL, #5 BAL)
Brewer's Record: 61-71, .462, 7th place in the MGL, 23 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

August was a good month for a pair of outfielders in the organization. At the WPK level, Antonio Puente captured Batter-of-the-Month honors for August while at the AAA level centerfielder Pat Rondeau earned the same honor for the month.
Rumor has it that with the calendar having turned to September and WPK active rosters allowed to expand to 40, Rondeau's reward for all of his fine play with the Chester Big Stick this season will be his first taste of big league play. Given that the Brewers have virtually no chance of making the post-season, the speedy young outfielder will likely be given plenty of playing time to see if he is ready for the next level.

[BirdWatcher]

Meanwhile, former Brewer farmhand Chris Martin, who was traded away earlier this season, had a great month on the mound for the Milwaukee Cadets Short Season A ball team, the Clute Saxons, and there is some talk around the Brewers organization that they might one day regret letting him go.

[stevem810]

I'm wondering if Martin's lack 'K power' will be a hindrance to his development. What is his BABP this year? You can PM me if you want to keep the thread 'clean'.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by stevem810

I'm wondering if Martin's lack 'K power' will be a hindrance to his development. What is his BABP this year? You can PM me if you want to keep the thread 'clean'.

Totally happy to share that information here and glad that you asked. It seems that he has probably been a bit lucky since being traded as it is his lowest BABIP thus far. Over the course of his time in the minors his BABIP is just about right at average. His BB/9 to K/9 don't look very promising. Then again, according to our scouting director, his stuff is expected to develop quite a bit still and be at least above average by the time he fully develops. It should be noted that I may have rushed him up to A-ball too quickly and his morale was often quite low during his time in our system. So perhaps the change of scenery will help him reach his true potential.

[BirdWatcher]

It's official on September 3rd, 1966: the Brewers have been eliminated from playoff contention after being held to one hit in a 3-0 loss to the third place Baltimore Lords. The Brewers, who have now lost 6 straight, join the Charlotte Sting and Detroit Falcons among the teams in the Moonlight Graham League to be eliminated from contention. (In the Shoeless Joe League, both the Philadelphia Mud Hens and the Milwaukee Cadets have been mathematically eliminated.)

[BirdWatcher]

Brewer's Personnel Report: September Call-Ups
Having blossomed this year at AAA, 23-year old Pat Rondeau was called up for his first taste of the big leagues on September 1st.
There are some in the Brewer's organization who consider Rondeau the player most likely to take over the centerfield position in the next few years and perhaps for many, many years to come. Others are not sure his obvious raw skills will manifest in major league numbers, especially with his inferior ability to draw a walk.
But at the very least, with his high level of defensive ability and game-changing speed, it should be fun to watch him try.