Batter of the Sim:
There were a lot of candidates swinging hot bats this past sim, but none more than sophomore catcher Oliver Carmona (7/6/7/6/7 Ratings, .265/.305/.463, 18 HR, 44 RBI) , who hit .440 over 7 games to lead the team. Carmona struggled in the first half of the season, but since the All-Star break he'd been on fire, living up to the expectations they had set for him since taking over for the departed Ernest Watts. Carmona has been catching every day, but down the stretch they'll move him to designated hitter against lefties with Pedro Gomez (9/6/5/3/7 Ratings, .288/.314/.451, 6 HR, 16 RBI) taking over behind the plate. Gomez has a bit stronger arm, and has a lower catcher ERA overall, plus the Hustlers feel that it'l help Carmona's bat to get a bit of a rest from the grind of every day catching.
Starting Pitcher of the Sim:
Manny Bautista (9/8/9 Ratings, 11 - 6, 2.83 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 149 K) had a couple of outstanding starts, going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA, 0 walks and 13 strikeouts. Bautista has been solid all season, but the Hustlers hope this recent stretch indicates he's getting ready to dominate down the stretch for the Hustlers as they work towards a playoff spot and a LMS run.
Relief Pitcher of the Sim:
He doesn't get the headlines, but there's no doubt amongst the Hustlers of the importance of setup man Scott Adams (8/8/6 Ratings, 3 - 2, 2.57 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 40 K) . He pitched in five games this sim, over 5.2 innings of scoreless ball he walked none and struck out three. Other than a hugely disappointing May (9.72 ERA in 14 appearances), Adams has been largely dominating again this season and is one of the best bargains in the game.
Goat of the Sim:
Fernando Moreno (6/6/7/9/5 Ratings, .225/.333/.404, 10 HR, 29 RBI) had been hot, but he went ice cold again this sim, batting .111 with no walks (his bread and butter) and four strikeouts. He needs to be more consistent for the Hustlers to succeed. There's a lot riding on the performance of this rookie.
Transactions:
The Hustlers could no longer ignore the dominant AAA performance of IF/OF Pedro Trujillo (5/5/7/9/4 Ratings, .357/.400/.643, 1 HR, 3 RBI) , so they finally made a decision to bring him up to the big club and give him some regular at-bats against lefties. He didn't disappoint in his first sim with the big club, batting .357 with a homer and 3 RBI. In order to bring him up, they first had to clear a 40-man roster slot, and chose to designate AAA catcher Tom Tebow (6/5/6/6/6 Ratings) for assignment. Tebow was batting .265 with 13 HR and 61 RBI for AAA Milwaukee but doesn't offer much upside. He might be claimed on waivers by a team like Yellow Springs where he could actually vie for playing time, especially given his versatility. To clear a spot on the active roster, the Hustlers sent IF Thatcher Jolley (8/6/3/5/7 Ratings, .245/.299/.343, 2 HR, 16 RBI) to AAA Milwaukee, where he could get regular playing time. Most of his at-bats had disappeared after the addition of Fred Hernandez (7/7/6/6/7 Ratings, .238/.303/.373, 12 HR, 50 RBI) from Buffalo a couple sims ago.
Ricardo Valera (9/7/8 Ratings, 4 - 4, 2.93 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 66 K) and the Hustlers agreed to a three year contract, buying out the arbitration years, for a total of $14,850,000. Valera has become one of the top closers in the league over the past few seasons, and the Hustlers expect him to remain as such for many years to come.
News and Notes:
After switching to rookie Tony Banuelos (9/6/4/5/10 Ratings, .284/.351/.358, 0 HR, 6 RBI) in left field for a couple of sims, it appears the Hustlers will return to veteran Bob White (7/7/7/6/5 Ratings, .305/.374/.525, 13 HR, 36 RBI) in the next sim and beyond. He's OPSing over .900 and his defense has been acceptable. Mainly, he offers far more pop than does Banuelos and the Hustlers are the #1 slugging team in the league. It makes sense, in a pennant race, to go with the veteran.
Minor League Notes:
AAA Milwaukee: The Choppers are an amazing 78-42, solidly in first place.....In his first sim with the Choppers, Jolley batted .368.....Brooks McHall (7/7/7 Talents) is pitching like he doesn't want the big club to forget about him, going 12-3 with a 2.33 ERA and 1.06 WHIP this year.....Catcher Sam Adams (5/6/9/5/3 Talents) was recently promoted to AAA.....Dillon Bell (7/7/8 Talents) cleared waivers, unexpectedly, a few weeks ago and has joined the Choppers in a relief role, posting a 2.79 ERA in his first six appearances.
AA Reno: The Aces are 56-54, 8.5 games out this season.....Edgar Jurado (6/6/7 Talents) was demoted to Reno in order to get him back in a starting rotation, he was 0-1, 5.11 ERA in his first two starts.....Catcher Paco Key (7/6/4/3/9 Talents) earned a promotion to Reno, and struggled in his first couple of weeks (.192 in 7 games).....Tim Alicea (6/6/6/6/7 Talents) has put together a solid year, batting .279 with 8 HR and 46 RBI, and has placed himself on the Hustlers radar as a future utility player, having the ability to play all infield and outfield positions.
A Pahrump: The Ranchers are 61-50, 3.5 games out of first place.....In his first season as a full time closer, lefty Francisco Chavez (7/5/4 Talents) already has earned 34 saves this year.....Jesus Pacheco (5/6/6 Talents), in a swingman role this year, leads the club with an 11-3 record.....25 year old Ken King (5/5/6/4/5 Talents) has been the offensive leader this year, batting .263 with 16 HR and 55 RBI, while not a real prospect it might be interesting to see what he would do in Europe.
R Roswell: The Aliens are in the midst of a dismal year, 25-52 and 28.5 games back.....The Ranchers have awful pitching this year as they have pushed several youngsters to rookie ball perhaps a year too early, pitchers such as Spencer Woolescroft (7/6/8 Talents) , Sam Romero (7/6/6 Talents) , Juan Torres (7/6/6 Talents) , and Jesus Ramos (10/8/8 Talents) , among others, are taking their lumps this year and should be expected to repeat this level next year.....another young player, first baseman Gervasio Ridder (7/8/8/5/8 Talents) , is thriving in his first 16 games (.306).....19 year old Felipe Diaz (6/6/6/4/7 Talents) has played right field all season and has also held his own with a .292 average.