The Tampa Bay Rays didn’t exactly alter the balance of offensive power in the American League East with their season-opening four-game set against 2015 division champ Toronto.
A per-game output of 3.5 runs scored and a .241 team batting average over an extended stretch will have the annual clamoring for hitting coach Derek Shelton’s job charged up before the first day of summer.
But right fielder Steven Souza Jr.’s Wednesday outburst at the plate provided a little positive momentum heading into the Rays’ Friday-to-Sunday set in Baltimore.
The 26-year-old was the difference in Tampa Bay’s 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays, pounding two home runs while driving in four and going 4-for-4 on the day. It was Souza’s first multi-homer game of his young career and second four-hit effort, matching his output last Sept. 23 in a win at Boston.
Souza played in three of the four first games and now has a team-high three home runs. Seattle’s Robinson Cano and Colorado’s Trevor Story lead the majors with four each. It’s the type of power Tampa Bay was hoping Souza could bring to the lineup last year when he came to the club from the Washington Nationals as part of a massive three-team, 11-player trade that also netted catcher Rene Rivera and pitcher Burch Smith and sent Wil Myers to the San Diego Padres.
A 34-game stretch on the disabled list last year after being hit on his left, non-throwing hand Aug. 1 by Boston Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly kept Souza’s games-played total down to 110. In for about two-thirds of the season, he still managed to finish third on the team with 16 home runs. Souza put together a solid .277/.385/.385 slash line in his final 21 games back from the hand injury, but it boosted his season-long batting average to just .225 and a high strikeout rate (team-high 144) limited his overall effectiveness.
Souza’s five Ks this season keeps him right on pace with last year’s rate of one every third plate appearance. That mid-30s percentage could very well hold throughout the year, but Souza’s .400 batting average and current home run pace most certainly will not.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound corner outfielder’s ability to keep taking strong cuts without causing his batting average to plummet represents the next step in Souza’s development for fans to track throughout the 2016 campaign.
Eric Horchy is a staff writer with OutsidePitchMLB.com. You can follow and interact with him on Twitter: @EricHorchy
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