Steven Souza, Jr. had a 2014 for the ages. The 25-year old right field prospect for the Washington Nationals made his Triple-A debut and put together arguably his best all around season at the highest level he had played at to date. Three months later Souza was shipped away to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the Will Myers deal.
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While it seemingly didn’t make sense that the Nationals traded away their 2014 Minor League Prospect of the Year, the bottom line was that on paper, there wasn’t any room in the Nationals’ outfield with Jayson Werth, Denard Span and Bryce Harper locked in for the long term. Since then, of course, Werth looks to be very questionable for Opening Day as he recovers from offseason surgery and Span went down for the first month of 2015, forcing fellow rookie Michael Taylor into a full time role. Meanwhile, Souza looks like he is going to at least vie to be a Rookie of the Year candidate, sliding right into the starting lineup for the Rays.
Souza was drafted in the third round of the 2007 draft by the Nats. It wasn’t his athletic ability that held Souza back, but outside forces. Souza’s early minor league career was haunted by injuries and a 50-game suspension for PEDs back in 2010.
While he seemingly never had a poor season in the minor leagues again, he truly impressed in his first stint at Triple-A last season. He earned International League Rookie of the Year honors slashing an astounding .350/432/.590 with 18 home runs and 26 stolen bases. He also earned IL MVP honors as the Syracuse Chiefs posted the best record last season.
He now seems to be poised to take over right field for the new look Rays as early as Opening Day this season. Standing in front of hime is 35-year old veteran, journeyman David DeJesus. Souza is a multi-tooled athlete with the versatility to play center field should the Rays need him. The problem is, however, that Souza has been struggling this spring.
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It is only spring training, which is the time to focus on the mechanics of swings, work the kinks out and adjust to big league pitching, but Souza appears to be taking a little longer to adjust. Thus far, he has slashed a .154/.185/.423 line, but has muscled two home runs. He has played impeccable right field, not making an error in 13 chances, while adding two assists.
The Rays are heading towards a new era. Ben Zobrist and Myers join five players from last year’s starting lineup who were let go this offseason. The pitching staff is currently in shambles as a new starter seemingly gets injured every day. Joe Maddon headed north to Chicago, and rookie manager Kevin Cash has taken the helms. There isn’t much left for Souza to accomplish in the minors. The Rays aren’t expected to compete in 2015, so why not finally give Souza his chance and see what he can do.