Follow the Prospects: Steven Souza, OF

[Jordanz Meatballz]

Made BA's hot sheet

A statline like that only makes you #7 on a hotsheet 

Rizzo better not trade this guy. The way Souza gets described reminds me of Jayson Werth. Late bloomer that steals bags, the high average, etc.

Isn't there a projection system that uses minor league numbers? I'd like to see how he comes out in something like that. Trading Span for next year could make sense if we have an All-Star languishing.

[tomterp]

Baseball Prospectus, from July 2:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24050

Minor League Update
Games of Tuesday, July 1

by Jeff Moore

Hitter of the Night: Steven Souza, OF, Nationals (Syracuse, AAA): 3-5, 2 R, 2 HR.
What Souza is doing in Triple-A this year is nothing short of incredible, and while it’s also not sustainable, especially at the major league level, he does have good pop and on-base skills and can play all three outfield positions. A logjam in Washington means he’s not going to get a chance to prove it at the major league level anytime soon, but if I were a potential trading partner with the Nationals, I’d be inquiring about Souza in just about any deal. He should carve out a nice niche on a major league roster.

[varoadking]

Span is gone...

[Slateman]

Span is gone...

This is Rizzo we're talking about

[stealyerbase]

Got my first glimpse of Souza tonight in the AAA ASG. Looks pretty good! Well spoken young man who will be a fine MLB ballplayer some day. Hope we see him in September!

[tomterp]

[Mr Clean]

HR  #16 tonight.  3 run shot.

[monkeyhit]

17th today, meanwhile Harper sucks tailpipes as a hitter and loses games as a baserunner. What's wrong with this picture?

[Slateman]

17th today, meanwhile Harper sucks tailpipes as a hitter and loses games as a baserunner. What's wrong with this picture?

The part where the Nationals would consider a long term benching of Harper for any reason.

[expofan]

Souza deserves a call up. please be fair rizzo.

[Slateman]

Souza deserves a call up. please be fair rizzo.

Yes, call him up to sit on the bench.

[HalfSmokes]

Souza deserves a call up. please be fair rizzo.

Harper has more talent, so, no matter what Souza proves in AAA he has no spot so long as span is here

[vernon337]

Harper has more talent, so, no matter what Souza proves in AAA he has no spot so long as span is here

Even though I've been a huge Souza fan, this is true -- at least the part relating to Harper.  My hope is that Souza is called up in September, replaces McLouth/Hairston as the guy who gives one of the regulars a day off and also proves to be a decent pinch hitter.  Then he stays up with the club next spring, and is there if there's any falloff on the part of Werth.

More likely scenario: He's traded and thrives for many years elsewhere.

[expofan]

Yes, call him up to sit on the bench.

Harp was handed the LF position on a silver platter. Time to make him earn it by bringing souza. maybe it will be the spark harp needs to focus. a little competition never hurt anyone.

[HalfSmokes]

a little competition never hurt anyone. 

many believe if hitting is about rhythm, either you're rule of thumb is wrong or they're wrong. There is no point calling up souza to pressure harper. If souza is better, call him up and demote harper so he can start in syracuse, if Harper is better, Harper stays up, Souza's career gets put on hold- it's not fair to souza, but nothing about the draft or the minors is fair to players

[monkeyhit]

I am beginning to wonder if Harper has much talent at all. Maybe he was just a precocious teenager who has now leveled off.
He doesn't have a great swing, doesn't seem to be improving at recognizing pitches, isn't hitting for power,
plays a position where most teams put their worst defender, is absolutely rock-headed when it comes to base-running. I mean, when you see all this, you can hardly go back to 2012 and early 2013 and believe that he has world-class talent. I once thought he did, but was wrong.
Souza doesn't have tremendous talent either, but he might help the club more than Harper, so it burns some of us who know that he'll never get a chance to compete with the chosen one.

[Slateman]

Harp was handed the LF position on a silver platter. Time to make him earn it by bringing souza. maybe it will be the spark harp needs to focus. a little competition never hurt anyone.

In Spring Training.  You bring it up now, you shake Harper's confidence. Just like with Zim, Harper needs to see MLB pitching.

[expofan]

I am beginning to wonder if Harper has much talent at all. Maybe he was just a precocious teenager who has now leveled off.
He doesn't have a great swing, doesn't seem to be improving at recognizing pitches, isn't hitting for power,
plays a position where most teams put their worst defender, is absolutely rock-headed when it comes to base-running. I mean, when you see all this, you can hardly go back to 2012 and early 2013 and believe that he has world-class talent. I once thought he did, but was wrong.
Souza doesn't have tremendous talent either, but he might help the club more than Harper, so it burns some of us who know that he'll never get a chance to compete with the chosen one.

well said. while i still think harp has a whole lot of talent(maybe more than most in mlb), but sometimes talent alone is not enough.He needs to get back to basics and work on his game where he does not have the pressure to produce daily. Sometimes, the lesser talent can be more productive given the chance.

[vernon337]

I am beginning to wonder if Harper has much talent at all. Maybe he was just a precocious teenager who has now leveled off.

That's certainly possible, but I think it's more likely that he is a player who:
-- Was brought up to the Majors at 19 and proceeded to have a very good year by today's standards for MLB players (+118 OPS) and an historic one for his age.
-- Had an OPS over 1.000 in his second year when he ran into the wall in Los Angeles, wound up missing more than 30 games and was never the same once he returned.
-- Had another major injury early in his third season, and has not yet returned to form since he returned to the lineup.  without endorsing the 100 ABs theory, I do think it's fair to say that he's dealing with a lot, especially for someone who wants to be the best and expects himself to be the best. 

Two major injuries in your first three years in the majors -- especially when caused by the aggressiveness which is your basic nature -- could mess with your head.  The injury to the thumb may still be bothering him, and he certainly is worried that it's not completely healed as seen from his reaction on that diving catch he made over the weekend.

Most importantly, he's 21, and he's still got a lot to learn.  Yaseil Puig is two years older and making many of the same mental mistakes (but he's hitting). Anthony Rendon was learning base running and defensive lessons at Harper's age by playing in college -- well, actually he was sitting out the college baseball season with an injury.  When Werth, Desmond and LaRoche were 21, they were making their blunders in front of a few hundred people in the low minors. 

Yes, guys like Trout and Ryan Zimmerman show an instinctive feel for the game at a very early age, but most have to learn through their mistakes.

Here's my prediction: Harper reins it in somewhat over the rest of the season, but still plays aggressively and makes some more mistakes.  But at some point before September, he starts hitting the way most of us think he's capable of, and pretty much all the other stuff is forgiven.     

[HalfSmokes]

Most importantly, he's 21, and he's still got a lot to learn.  Yaseil Puig is two years older and making many of the same mental mistakes (but he's hitting). Anthony Rendon was learning base running and defensive lessons at Harper's age by playing in college -- well, actually he was sitting out the college baseball season with an injury.  When Werth, Desmond and LaRoche were 21, they were making their blunders in front of a few hundred people in the low minors. 

if that's the case, I just wish there was somewhere the MLB could stick young players who are still learning and maturing, preferably somewhere where they wouldn't be accruing service time. If only such a place existed 

[Matugi]

if that's the case, I just wish there was somewhere the MLB could stick young players who are still learning and maturing, preferably somewhere where they wouldn't be accruing service time. If only such a place existed

Prison?

[imref]

if that's the case, I just wish there was somewhere the MLB could stick young players who are still learning and maturing, preferably somewhere where they wouldn't be accruing service time. If only such a place existed 

Houston.

[Slateman]

Any chance he can play second?

[welch]

Do the Nats need McLouth and Hairston? Drop one of them and bring up Souza. Werth is hurt so put Souza in RF.

[Mr Clean]

Do the Nats need McLouth and Hairston? Drop one of them and bring up Souza. Werth is hurt so put Souza in RF.

It's all about the money on those two, especially McLouth.