Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: June 6th-June 12th, 1966. Brewers continue their plummet to the middle of the pack with a 2-4 week, losing 2 of 3 to Portland and 2 of 3 to Brooklyn, all in front of the home crowd in Denver. The final game of the week was particularly embarrassing, as they lost 16-3, getting horrible pitching, sloppy defense (3 errors) and a lack of timely hitting.

Who's Hoppy? Predictably, not a lot to choose from here, but young budding star leftfielder Antonio Puente (.266/.338/.468, 2.0 WAR), who has been mostly disappointing so far, did have a good week. Puente colllected 9 hits in 21 AB's, including 2 triples (3), and 1 HR (7), while scoring 5 times (25) and driving in 5 (29). He also picked up his 7th stolen base without yet having been caught stealing this season. Staff ace Alex Burley (6-4, 1.96 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) also had a good outing, that is until he had to leave at the end of his 6th inning worked with a strained abdominal muscle which has him out for 2 weeks (on 10-day DL). Burley allowed just 4 hits and 2 runs (neither earned), striking out 5 while walking just 1 batter in an eventual 4-3 victory over Brooklyn.

Who's Hungover? Rightfielder Ruben "Streak" Souffront (.247/.281/.324, -0.4 WAR) continues to struggle in his sophomore season, both at the plate and in the field (though he does have 5 OF assists thus far- had 7 total in 1965 season.) Ruben was just 2 for 13 on the week with 1 RBI (11), while striking out 4 times (36) and not drawing any bases on balls (8). Pitcher Joey Brown (3-3, 3.99 ERA, 1.30 WHIP), who had such a good start in his first appearance with the Brewers, had a horrible second start, lasting just 4 1/3rd innings, giving up 8 runs (all earned) on 11 hits with 3 walks and 1 strikeout in a 9-3 loss to Portland.

What's Brewing Around the League? The Shoeless Joe League continues to be somewhat unpredictable. While Columbus remains atop the league standings at 34-23, San Antonio now moves into second at 33-27 with El Paso and Boston tied for third at 30-26. Predictably enough, Los Angeles continues their dominance in the MGL with a 37-17 record. Portland continues to be the other powerhouse in the league at 36-24, while Baltimore now sits in third place at 31-28.

The Streak Souffront Saga: Ruben Souffront finds himself riding the bench more frequently as he performs under replacement level. See Who's Hungover above for more details.

Brewers Power Ranking: #16 (#1 L.A., #2 COL, #3 S.A., #4 POR, #5 BOS.)
Brewers Record: 29-29, .500, in tie with 3 other teams for 6th place, 10 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

So with the team reeling and the pitching staff largely in a shambles, Brewers leadership found themselves looking forward to the future and trying to formulate a plan. One thing that seemed certain is that with several veteran players eligible for free agency at the end of the season, the team was neither inclined to nor really in a position to sign all of them, and in fact likely would sign none of them.
Among these players the one with the most trade value, and the one likely demanding the biggest payday (estimated to be looking for approx. 300K/season), was first baseman Mark Compton. Compton was arguably the Brewers MVP for the 1965 season (6.0 WAR), as he led the team in HR's with 39 while providing excellent defense both in right field and at first base. Compton is (was) the only true power hitter on the squad. And he is very popular with both fans and teammates. But as Branch Rickey said to Ralph Kiner, "we finished last with you, we can finish last without you." Okay, granted, the Brewers actually finished 2nd with Compton leading the way in 1965. But with Compton not as productive (other than being actually ahead of his '65 HR pace) in 1966 and with his defense noticeably diminished, and with the Brewers scuffling, it was decided that it was better to focus on the long-term for now rather than what Compton might provide for the remainder of the '66 campaign.

So this happened:

[BirdWatcher]

As stated above, one consequence of this trade is that the Brewers power-hitting is diminished considerably. It was thought by management entering into the 1965 season that this would be an area of weakness for the team, but as it turned out the Brewers were near the top of the team HR category for most of the season. Not true this year though, as the Brewers are currently 8th in the league in this category. With Compton gone it is expected they might well fall to the bottom of the pack as far as HR's go.

Another consequence is that the Brewers may have just made the best team in their league even more powerful. In the short run, anyway. It was very unorthodox making this deal with the team they are aiming to catch. But the thought, in the end, was that for this season any thought of catching up to the Spinners was unrealistic, even at this stage of the season, and that the most important thing was to put the Brewers in a better position to win in the next several years, even if that meant giving some potential advantage to the Spinners right now.

A more positive consequence of the trade is to provide the pitching staff with some youthful arms with potential. In Steve Alonso they get a pitcher in the prime of his career having a great season. He is also considered a very durable pitcher. It also doesn't hurt that he is signed through the 1968 season to a very reasonable contract. Granted, although he has premium stuff the movement of his pitches is somewhat suspect. But Brewers Scouting Director Nick Meskill is very high on his combination of skills and future potential. In addition, the Brewers add a young pitcher who is nearly major league ready in Abel Pennington. While it is not clear whether Pennington will develop a decent enough third pitch to be a useful starting pitcher, it does appear that he should have a role in the future somewhere on the Brewers pitching staff. Meskill is a big believer in the young right hander, who earns much praise for his baseball smarts and hard work, and feels he could become a top of the rotation starter.

There was also a sense of addition by subtraction as the team was able to unload veteran starting pitcher Volker Kuhn, who was merely a stop-gap option who was very unlikely to accept demotion back down to AAA and was up for free agency at the end of the season. Also, it gives young catcher, Leo Madrigal, who had started the 1965 season as the Brewers backup at that position, a chance for a fresh start as it was clear he was heading in the wrong direction in the Brewers organization and had been bypassed by several other prospects.

[BirdWatcher]

More regarding Abel Pennington and Leo Madrigal:

[BirdWatcher]

The absence of Compton at first base (along with the earlier trade of first base backup Pablo Gonzales) means that rookie Erik Shelton, who has acquitted himself quite well thus far, will be getting more playing time there. Shelton, a natural center fielder, will also continue to backup Zack Banks at that position. So he will have ample chances to build his case for an important role on the 1967 squad.
In addition, veteran RF/1B Justin Schumann will likely see his playing increased both spelling Shelton at first and playing more regularly in right field in place of the slumping Souffront.

[BirdWatcher]

And....sometimes a bit of shake-up seems to energize a team. The previously slumping Brewers woke up during the week following the big Mark Compton trade and won 5 of 7 games, including a 7-2 win, a 13-6 rout of Brooklyn (which was 13-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, when young reliever Ben Malzone gave up a grand slam HR and a solo HR), and the week was capped off with a 13-4 crushing of Brooklyn (again, 13-2 going into the bottom of the 9th but the bullpen gave up a few meaningless runs).
More details about the week tomorrow. But suffice it to say that several Brewers really stepped up their game this week, including A.J. White, Antonio Puente (14 game hitting streak and counting), Chad Brown, Zack Banks (inside-the-park 3-run HR in 13-4 win), Jose Bravo, and starting pitcher Joey Brown. There is some thought that White and Puente in particular were very pleased with the shifting of the lineup due to Compton's departure. White, who had been hitting in the lead-off and #2 slots most of the season, is now largely hitting 3rd and Puente has moved down into the cleanup spot.

[BirdWatcher]

It dawned on me today that I had forgotten to share the results of the recently held first year player draft (06/05/1966.) Earlier I had shared a few starting pitchers who our scouting department had targeted as good fits and who it seemed might slip low enough in the first round for us to hope to get them with our pick at #16. Well, apparently prior to the draft other teams realized their value as well and Adam Getchell was picked 3rd overall by the Pittsburgh Roadrunners while Matt Helm was chosen by the Charlotte Sting with the 6th pick overall. In fact, there was quite the run on starting pitchers in the first round as 10 of the first 15 players chosen were from that position. When it was the Brewers turn to pick at number 16, the best player available, in the eyes of our scouting department, was a relief pitcher named Justin Bismark. And, with some hesitation, that is who the Brewers chose.
The first player chosen, overall, was 22 year old starting pitcher/first baseman Mike "Kid" Stagner, who was selected by the lowly Milwaukee Cadets. Stagner has great potential talent but doesn't fit the ideal character profile.

[BirdWatcher]

Initial indications are that there were very few can't-miss prospects in this draft class, but that it did run a bit deep, potentially, with players who look like they might eventually have some role in the majors.
The Brewers second round pick was a catcher, Johnny Samson, who looks like he could be a talented hitter but only an adequate defensive catcher (if that). There is some hope that he might develop a bit better defense over time.
With the team's third pick, it was decided to take another catcher who Scouting Director Meskill was lobbying for hard, Tomas Lara. Lara has a good mix of offensive and defensive potential but there were concerns among several members of the Brewers brain trust that his work habits seem a bit lax.

[BirdWatcher]

A few other players chosen by the Brewers in this draft that have skills that could lead them to develop into useful pieces are:
Mike Tomlin, a third baseman chosen in the 5th round who has some hitting potential and is expected to develop decent power;
Eric Louis, an extremely gifted defensive shortstop who will likely never develop enough of a bat for the bigs and has questionable baseball smarts (though good leadership indicators) but could develop enough to be a valuable defensive replacement off the bench someday (drafted in the 6th round);
Andrew Knight, a speedy (but not terribly savvy base runner) center fielder with a cannon for an arm and some offensive potential.

[BirdWatcher]

There is also some hope that 4th round pick, starting pitcher Harry Lyerly might develop beyond his current expectations and that 11th round pick Ryan Williamson, with his high intelligence, above average raw speed, and defensive potential, might end up being a bit of steal at that relatively late stage of the draft.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: June 13th-June 19th, 1966. The Brewers (as mentioned above) bounce back after the big Compton trade with a 5-2 week. They sweep a two-game series against Detroit, split a 2-game series against Portland, and take 2 of 3, including two blowout wins, against Brooklyn. Most impressively, they do all of this on the road.

Who's Hoppy? A lot of candidates this week. Here are three: A.J. White (.316/.435/.395, 1.9 WAR), was a torrid 15 for 29 on the week, with 4 runs scored (27), 2 RBI (20), 1 double (5), 1 HR (2), 3 BB's (39) and 1 stolen base (8). Though like the team as a whole, he did commit several errors during the week as well and has been caught stealing more times than he has been successful. (Team strategy settings have been adjusted for fewer attempts now.) Antonio Puente (.287/.370/.483, 2.6 WAR), is in the midst of a 14-game hitting streak and went 10 for 21 on the week, with 8 runs scored (33), 5 RBI (34), 1 HR (8), and 7 BB (28). Young shortstop Chad Brown (.250/.277/.346, 0.3 WAR) is also showing signs of his great potential (possibly the player most likely to blossom into super-stardom on the team) and was 8 for 27 on the week with 6 runs scored (31), 3 RBI (16), 2 doubles (15), and 1 triple (2) and continues his steady defensive improvement.

Who's Hungover? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, and with a heavy heart, once again I will start with the man this entire thread is named for- Ruben "Streak" Souffront (.242/.277/.314, -0.5 WAR). Ruben, in more limited play, went just 2 for 12 with 1 run scored (16), 1 RBI (12), and 1 stolen base (8). Young reliever Ben Malzone (0-1, 1 SV, 8.82 ERA, 1.96 WHIP) also had a tough week. In 3 appearances he worked just 1 2/3rds innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 of them HR's, giving up 6 runs (all earned), while striking out 2 batters and walking none.

What's Brewing Around the League: In the SJL, Columbus (41-25) holds onto a 3 1/2 game lead over the red-hot Pittsburgh Roadrunners (37-28, 9-1 in their last 10) while Jacksonville sits in third place at 37-29. Los Angeles continues to own the MGL at 42-22, Portland remains in second at 40-27, while the Brewers (34-31) claw their way back up to a virtual tie for third place with Baltimore (35-32.)

The Streak Souffront Saga: Once again, more of a tragedy at this point then a saga. See Who's Hungover above (again.)

Brewers Power Ranking: #6 (#1 COL, #2 L.A., #3 PIT, #4 POR, #5 JAC.)
Brewers Record: 34-31, .523, tied for 3rd place in the MGL, 8 1/2 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: June 20th- June 26th, 1966. And the roller-coaster ride continues. The Brewers return home to Brewers Grounds and drop the first four games this week with very bad pitching, a plethora of defensive miscues, and some bad base running. The first three were against one of the weakest squads in the league- the Detroit Falcons. They then dropped the first of four against the San Francisco Velocity. Fortunately, they salvaged the week somewhat by winning the last 3 of the 4 game series against the Velocity.

Who's Hoppy? The Brewers offense, even when losing, remains pretty hot. The same big 3 are particularly leading the way: A.J. White (.321/.452/.402, 2.5 WAR), Antonio Puente, and Chad Brown. Puente (.295/.377/.507, 3.0 WAR) was 7 for 18 on the week, with 7 RBI (41), 3 runs scored (36), 1 double (12) and 2 HR (10). Puente also picked up his 9th stolen base of the year and has been caught only once for the best net SB total on the team. Brown (.268/.295/.362, 0.5 WAR), went 12 for 29 with 5 runs scored (36), 2 doubles (17), 2 RBI (18), and 1 stolen base (8). Another Brown is also on fire right now: starting pitcher Joey Brown. Since his massive struggles in his second start after being picked up in the trade which sent veteran first baseman Pablo Gonzales to Philadelphia, Brown has now had three great performances in a row, including a 4-hit complete game shutout of San Francisco which turned the tide on the week. (Brown's numbers since joining Denver: 4-1, 2.79 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 1.3 HR/9, 1.9 BB/9, 4.5 K/9.)

Who's Hungover? Bill Roache, who had been arguably the most consistent arm out of the bullpen in 1965, has struggled with increasing responsibility as erstwhile closer Ron Poblano slips into mediocrity. Roache made 3 appearances this week, pitching 3 1/3 innings, allowing 4 runs (all earned) on 6 hits while walking 2 batters and striking out 3. Team leadership is hoping that by easing back on the high pressure situations for Roache and giving him more low leverage middle relief innings he might regain his form. And then there is Ruben Souffront. But for more on that see the Streak Souffront Saga below.

What's Brewing Around the League? Columbus retains first place in the SJL with a record of 45-28. Reigning champions Jacksonville are now in second at 41-32. Pittsburgh holds third place at 40-32. The MGL continues to see the dominance of Los Angeles (46-25) and Portland (43-30) with Baltimore hanging on to third place at 40-34.

The Streak Souffront Saga: Ruben Souffront continues his struggles, particularly at the plate, and with his playing time being severely reduced and his presence on the field generally a liability, the difficult decision was made by management to send Ruben down to the AAA Chester Big Stick club for some seasoning and to get his confidence back. We will monitor his progress there and hope for his successful return to the Brewers in the not too distant future.

Brewers Power Ranking: #7 (#1 L.A., #2 COL, #3 POR, #4 JAC, #5 BAL.)
Brewers Record: 37-35, .514, 4th place MGL, 9 1/2 gb L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

So word has been received that the Los Angeles Spinners have inked former Brewers 1B/RF Mark Compton to a five-year contract extension. This should be interesting. It appears they are using Compton in rightfield, where his is still above average defensively (though a bit diminished from 1965) and has a rifle arm. At 33 years old though it will be fascinating to see if they get good value for their investment.

[stevem810]

Rooting for Ruban

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by stevem810

Rooting for Ruban

Thanks! Me too!
So far he seems to be tearing up AAA pitching. I probably just rushed him into a starting role in the majors too soon. I still believe he can be an above average major leaguer with his skills set. Depending upon how things go between now (nearly July in the schedule) and the September roster expansion, I figure at the least he will be back up on September 1st and we will see if his time at AAA leads to some better big league results.

[BirdWatcher]

In the midst of a week without a lot of good news (were on losing end of 4-game sweep at Phoenix and were informed that Chris Montefusco's sore elbow, which was expected to only make him miss one start, was not healing as quickly as first expected and he had to be placed on DL), there was some very good news announced on July 2nd. Antonio Puente, arguably the MVP of the team this year, and one of our budding young stars, agreed to an 8-year contract extension. Having upset the fans by losing two very popular players in trades earlier in the season (Pablo Gonzales and Mark Compton) this contract extension for a young player who is already very popular also helped boost fan interest once again by showing that the team was indeed committed to winning in the near future.

(A few things: when I went to see about getting Puente extended for at least next season, given that he was arbitration eligible at the end of the 1966 campaign, this 8-year contract was what he requested. Now, normally even if a player requests something that I essentially agree with I will do a little haggling to get a better deal. In this case, though, I decided to just give him what he wanted and hope he didn't change his mind. Given how far he has developed at the tender age of 22, and with his high work ethic and low loyalty, this seemed like potentially the only chance to wrap him up long-term with such reasonable terms. To put it into context- veteran RF'er Justin Schumann, who at age 37 isn't even half the player Puente is, likely will be demanding 100 K at the end of the season. Puente, under the deal he inked, is now under contract with the Brewers through age 30, at his peak making 140 K per year. It is still perhaps a risky move, being locked in for that long, but it seems like a risk well worth taking.)

19-year old shortstop Chad Brown also signed an extension, but just for the 1967 season at 29 K.
(Always fascinating who wants to go long term and who prefers year-by-year. Chad is considered a high loyalty guy and there is no indication that he is high, or low, greed. But when I tried to at least get him to sign for 2 years, offering some incentives and a bit more for 1967 than he was asking, he begged off, saying he didn't want to commit to that long. Ah well. Back to the fan interest component. Fan interest had dropped from 86 at the beginning of the season down to 80, primarily due to the two trades referenced above. Even though the team remains #1 in attendance and has a loyal fan base, it was nice to get that number moving back in the right direction again.)

[stevem810]

Is Puente's profile/stats posted here somewhere? If not, can we see? Thanks

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by stevem810

Is Puente's profile/stats posted here somewhere? If not, can we see? Thanks

It looks like the most recent time I posted with Puente's player page was on 06/24/2018 so you can get an idea of his ratings at least. He has been on fire since then and his stats are way up.
I'm at work right now, but later tonight I will include that attachment.

Suffice it to say, he is a well-above average defensive left fielder, a very strong runner and base stealer, a good contact hitter with plus power, a very good eye, though he is prone to striking out.

[BirdWatcher]

stevem810, here is Mr. Puente! I just noticed that both his overall and potential ratings very recently received a boost from 4/4 to 4 1/2/4 1/2.
At the moment he doesn't seem like the worst rock to build the team around.

[BirdWatcher]

Week-in-Review: June 27th- July 3rd, 1966. The Brewers continue their uneven play as they get swept in a 4-game series at Phoenix, three of the games decided by 2 runs and the other a 1-0 defeat. They then right themselves a bit by winning 3 of 4 against the lowly Charlotte Sting at home.

Who's Hoppy? Center fielder Zack Banks (.268/.325/.464, 1.8 WAR) has been coming on of late (perhaps he is hearing the rapid footsteps of Pat Rondeau approaching from AAA.) Zack went 12 for 29 on the week with 3 runs scored (33), 6 RBI (32), 4 doubles (10), 1 triple (6), 1 HR (7), 3 walks (17), 4 strikeouts (44) and was caught stealing once (11, with only 7 SB's.) The most surprising thing, other than the disappointing stolen base rate for a player projected to be a gifted runner and base stealer, is the unexpected power he has been displaying of late. Zack is on target to finish the season with 46 extra base hits in less than 500 plate appearances, and is on pace to nearly double his HR output of the '65 season. Veteran third baseman A.J. White (.330/.457/.419, 3.0 WAR) also continues his torrid pace as he went 8 for 18 on the week with 6 runs scored (37) and 5 RBI (26). While he walked only twice while striking out twice he now has 50 walks on the year to just 21 strikeouts. Starting pitcher Alex Burley (6-6, 2.02 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) won the tough-luck award for the week, as he lost both of his starts (1-0 and 3-1) in spite of continuing to pitch very well. He worked 15 innings, allowing just 4 runs (all earned) on 13 hits while striking out 7 (70) and walking 3 (16.)

Who's Hungover? Veteran rightfielder/first baseman Justin Schumann (.239/.303/.317) has been falling back to earth for quite awhile after a strong start earlier in the season. He was just 5 for 29 this week, with 1 double (3), 1 walk (13), and 5 strikeouts (24.) Second baseman Tanner Yurek (.231/.328/.364, 1.5 WAR) also continues to struggle. For the week he managed just 4 hits in 22 at bats. He did score 3 runs (31) and hit his 15th double of the year. But he also only walked 3 times (31) while striking out 6 times (52), and for a player with his reputation for having an excellent eye these numbers are highly surprising. Also, Tanner hit 20 homeruns in the 1965 season and this year is only on pace to hit half that in slightly more plate appearances.

What's Brewing Around the League? Although Columbus has been struggling a bit lately (3-7 in the last 10), they do manage to hold onto a slim lead in the SJL with a 47-33 record. Pittsburgh and Jacksonville are tied for second at 45-34, while a red-hot San Antonio Keys squad is right behind them at 45-39. Los Angeles and Portland, predictably, hold onto the two top spots in the MGL. They are 50-28 and 47-32 respectively. Baltimore holds onto third with a 43-37 mark. A distant third.

The Streak Souffront Saga: Ruben got off to a torrid start down at AAA but has cooled off a bit of late. Still, in his first 8 games with the Chester squad he has managed a slash line of .355/.417/.516. He is reportedly in a good mood and will be given some more time there to continue to regain his stroke and his confidence.

Brewer's Power Ranking: #12 (#1 L.A., #2 POR, #3 PIT, #4 JAC, #5 S.A.)
Brewer's Record: 40-40, .500, tied for 6th place, 11 gb L.A.