Steven Souza named AL Player of the Week

What a start to the season is has been for Steven Souza Jr.

He is currently among the league leaders in several of the major offensive categories and although the season is still in its infancy, Souza currently has more fWAR (1.5) than Mike Trout (1.4) and he has the 5th highest in the majors.

So far this year, he has slased .347/.424/.613 with 4 HR over 20 games, good for a 198 wRC+. His biggest struggle has always been his high number of strikeouts, but he even has that down to begin the season as he is down to 25.6% which still isn’t all that great but still way better than his career mark of 33.0%.

Souza is starting to receive recognition for his efforts from around the league as he has been named the American League Player of the Week. During this past week, Souza has been incredible, slashing .413/.433/.759, blasting three home runs for the Rays over seven games.

It’s unlikely Souza will be able to keep this level of production up throughout the remainder of the year but for a franchise that was aching from dealing Souza for Trea Turner, Souza’s emergence is a wish come true.