2000 Preview: Vegas Baby!!

[KCCardinalFan]

Las Vegas has been the trendy pick for years to land a MLB franchise, trendy pick from everyone but the fans as 3.4 million of them turned up to see the real game in town last season: The MBBA’s Las Vegas Hustlers. MBBA Commish Matt Rectenwald guided the Hustlers to their 5th straight winning season since the MBBA revival as they claimed their second division title in that span. The Hustlers did it the way you are supposed to do it, by pitching their asses off. To the tune of the league’s top ERA, while also leading the Frick in complete games, shutouts, and allowing the fewest baserunners. What does this all add up to? Ousted in the first round of the playoffs in five games.

So now we enter a new decade and the fans in Sin City are clamoring for a title. Is there enough on this team to improve upon last season’s early exit, and how will the offseason moves help? As my boss always tells me during performance review time, you might as well start with your strengths....

Starting Staff:
Johnny Madorin: Johnny started 17 games in this league at the age of 19. He is a phenom, he has a career ERA of 3.30, and has struck out more than a batter per inning for his career. 1999? 15-8 with a 3.18. He is filthy, he will dominate again in 2000, and he needs a nickname.

Christopher Stroller: Trooper has a nickname, and would also be the #1 starter if it weren’t for Madorin (see above). There is no doubt that Stroller was the better pitcher last season though going 20-7 with an impressive 2.89 ERA and finished in the top five for the Nebraska award. Stroller has pitched at least 240 innings in three straight seasons and is also only 25, scary, scary stuff.

Shane Christen: Shane was brought over in a deadline move, and looked to be a complete flop until some late season heroics. Those heroics also earned Christen a new contract to the tune of $5.5 million over two years. Christen has a dominant fastball and three other above average pitches and will look to get back to his pre-1999 form where he had five straight seasons of a sub-4 ERA, and two seasons of a sub-3 ERA including 1996 where he went 27-3 with a 2.74!

Eric Sweet: Eric is a fine #4 pitcher that had a good 1999, only going 11-12, but posting a 3.90 ERA with 4 complete games and 200+ innings. Sweet tends to pitch to contact with his best pitch being a deceptive changeup, although he can sneak the fastball by you hitting 95 on the gun at times. Sweet gives up a ton of homeruns, and will need to address this if he really wants to take that next step.

Curt Wilson: Curt has been a fixture in the Hustler bullpen since 1997 and will get another shot at cracking the rotation this spring. His only other opportunity was 1996 when he started 12 games to the tune of a 6.11 ERA. Wilson has two excellent pitches and an above-average slider, but is also prone to giving up the longball and will probably have a short leash in 2000.
Players to watch: If the bottom part of the staff struggles look for current Closer Robert Yoo, or AAA phenom Davey Acheson to get a shot. Fans will also start to question the off-season trade of solid Michael Shellenbarger.

Grade: B+

Bullpen:
The bullpen saw several shake-ups in 1999 but when things settled down they got the job done. The most significant move was bringing in Pedro Martinez in June, in exchange for struggling youngster Austin Horta. Rectenwald appeared to get the best of that deal as Martinez was the piece that seemed to cement the pen appearing in 27 games with an impressive 2.33 ERA. Martinez will be joined by Vegas veteran Marty “don’t call me Austin” Powers (2.66 ERA, 50 innings), mid-season acquisition Dicky Reemer (4.39 ERA, 67 innings), mid-season pick-up Ernist Nilson (2.08 ERA, 47 innings), and another mid-season acquisition in Santiago Colon (3.00 ERA, 48 innings).

Closing games will initially be Robert “Eff” Yoo’s job. Yoo has the ability to start, but has been brilliant out of the pen in three brief auditions the past three seasons. Last year in 25 games (6 starts), Yoo put up a 2.36 ERA in 72 innings, allowing only 3 homeruns, with an eye-popping 1.09 WHIP. Yoo doesn’t rely on one-pitch to dominate batters, but instead will keep them guessing with four above average selections.

Grade: A

Matt has really focused on making the starting lineup younger these past couple of seasons, and with some strong prospects sitting in AAA the moves probably aren’t over. In 1999 the offense was pretty average, finishing the middle of the league in average (.275 tied for 3rd), OPS (.747, 8th), runs per game (4.7, tied for 7th), and homeruns (125, 10th). Regardless, we aren’t talking about a Calgary-type lineup here (oh no he didn’t)…

Catcher: Fan favorite Riley Hinson was shipped off in January in a measure that saved the team $10 million plus the next two seasons but cost them their #3 starter. Getting the at-bats this year will be rookie Desi Stanley. A very solid defensive Catcher, Stanley has yet to reach his potential at the plate and some scouts think he could eventually be a .300/20/90 type of player. Another rookie, Jorge Sanchez, will get a chance this spring to be the back-up and continue to work on filling in that mustache at the big league level.

First Base: 1999 rookie of the year candidate Reginald Harnois appears to be the real deal. Harnois is a defensive wiz whose ability should eventually earn him some hardware, but also projects to be a #3 or #4 hitter for years to come. Last season Harnois hit .273 with 21 homeruns, driving in 70 runs, and posting a .816 OPS. Reginald should only get better.

Middle Infield: We will cover this as a group, because things could get very interesting here. Brent Gates has been on the block for most of the off-season so the chances of him getting any at-bats past the spring are remote. Donald Noboru will start at Short, but actually projects as a better defensive Second bagger. Regardless, Donald is terrific at the plate hitting .343 in 1999 and making his first all-star appearance. Rounding out the group will be a couple of rookies Amaury Garcia (we don’t know where he came from), Silvio Garcia (.292/6/40 in AAA), and veteran Pat Listach (.272/2/15 in 97 games).

Third Base: Randy Square is another heavily-rumored trade item, but if he sticks around is as good as they get at the hot corner. Square hit 29 homeruns for Vegas last season while hitting .301, but has yet to duplicate his 40/111 campaign of 1997. Square is a fantastic defender, winning the Diamond Glove award last season. Waiting in the wings will be rookie Philippe LaRouche who projects to be a .300+ hitter (.368 in AAA last season) with plus power and is one of the most versatile defenders in the game.

Left Field: Ian Botham has been a hot topic for sportswriters and radio hosts to discuss, but the facts are that Ian remains a very talented player that seemed to get his career back on track after a mid-season trade to Vegas. Botham is a great defender that still has the ability to hit 30+ dingers and drive in 100+ runs every season. Vegas will need a bounce-back year for Ian in the middle of this lineup.

Center Field: Jimmy Slizz hits .300, can take a walk, and can steal a bag which is good enough to earn him the leadoff role. Last season Slizz hit .321 and stole 39 bases, but will need to increase his success rate and his walk totals to truly join the elite class. A left fielder by training, Slizz will need to improve in center but can cover a ton of ground.

Right Field: Jorge Abad and Stan Ross will probably share the at-bats, but this is by far the shakiest position on the diamond for Vegas. Abad is by far the better defender, but struggles against lefties. Waiting in the wings will be mid-season acquisition Luis Cruz and rookie Juan Dolezal, but neither will be an improvement defensively.

Grade: B-

So what does this all add up to? Vegas has probably taken a small step backwards in the starting rotation, but still has one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. The bullpen should be rock-solid, and will be better just from the fact that this group will be together the entire season. The lineup may be the biggest question, and this team could struggle driving in runs. Botham will need a comeback season and Harnois will need to take another step forward to complement the always solid Square. This is a playoff team, but I think the Pacific should be a very interesting race.

Bold Prediction: 93-69, 1st in the Pacific.