Steven Souza

Not to be confused with Steve Souza.

Steven Jeffrey Souza, Jr. (born April 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Washington Nationals.

Amateur career

Souza attended Cascade High School in Everett, Washington. In high school, Souza starred for the school's baseball and football teams. Souza committed to attend Washington State University on a baseball scholarship, while also playing football for the Washington State Cougars.

Professional career

Washington Nationals

Minor leagues

The Washington Nationals selected Souza in the third round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. Souza signed with the Nationals rather than attend college, receiving a $346,000 signing bonus. He played for the Hagerstown Suns of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, he had 116 strikeouts in 126 games. He was selected for the South Atlantic League All-Star Game in 2010, but he also received a 50 game suspension for use of a banned substance.

Souza played for the Potomac Nationals of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in 2011. Late in the season, he was benched for breaking team rules, and considered leaving the Nationals' organization to play college football. He returned to the Nationals' organization in 2012, and batted .297 with 23 home runs between Hagerstown and Potomac. In 2013, Souza played for the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League, where he batted .300 with 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 77 games. He played in the Arizona Fall League after the regular season. He was added to the Washington 40 man roster on November 1, 2013.

Souza split his time between the AAA level Syracuse Chiefs and the Washington Nationals in 2014. He was called up to the majors for the first time on April 12, 2014. Souza made his major league debut on April 13 in a game against the Atlanta Braves. He entered as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and struck out in his only at-bat of the game, which ended in a 10-2 loss for the Nationals. He was sent down to the Syracuse Chiefs on May 5 in order to make room for Scott Hairston, who had just come off the disabled list. On July 16, 2014, Souza went 2–4 in the Triple-A All-Star Game with a double and a single. Souza's performance at the AAA level was recognized with his selection as the International League's Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year. He led the International League in batting average with .354, on base percentage with .435 and slugging percentage with .601.

2014 season

On August 4, Souza was called up to the Washington Nationals after Nate McLouth was put on the 15-day disabled list. On August 8, he got injured in a game against the Atlanta Braves after trying to rob a Freddie Freeman home run. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 10 with a left shoulder contusion. On September 28, 2014, he made a dramatic leaping catch of a fly ball to left-centerfield for the third out in the ninth inning in the final game of the regular season. The catch secured Jordan Zimmermann's no hitter, the first since the Nationals moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 19, 2014, the Nationals traded Souza and Travis Ott to the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team trade, in which the San Diego Padres traded Joe Ross and a player to be named later to the Nationals, the Padres traded Jake Bauers, Burch Smith, and René Rivera to the Rays. On August 1, Souza was placed on the disabled list with a broken hand.

References

Further reading

• Michael, Matt. (July 23, 2014). "Souza Finds God, and then Finds Success," Syracuse New Times

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Steven Souza Jr. on Twitter