April 29, 2036
The Hustlers home stadium, The Casino by Moe Fugger, is not only the oldest stadium in the league but also one of the more friendly stadiums for left-handed power hitters. The Hustlers have benefitted from it for years, and typically stack their rotation with left-handers to try and limit the damage opposing bats can do to them. This year Vegas only has one regular starting pitcher, Hao Kun (8/6/7 Ratings, 2 - 1, 5.18 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 23 K) , who throws left-handed. Manager Edward Allen had to think out of the box to contain powerful lefty bats by Wichita and Montreal in the past homestand and his plan worked out wonderfully.
Vegas gave LOOGY Alphonse Salvarani (pictured above, left) (8/6/7 Ratings, 1 - 0, 3.71 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 7 K) two starts and 19 year old rookie Wayne Jackson (pictured above, right) (7/7/6 Ratings) one, which was his major league debut. Vegas won all three of those games.
Salvarini has gone from a non-roster invitee to Spring Training to a pretty big part of the team. No commitment was made to him starting any more games, but Allen said "every option will be explored". Salvarini came to the Hustlers with a reputation as a bad clubhouse guy, but so far so good as Allen said "he's been doing his job".
It has been a meteoric rise for Jackson, a sixth round draft pick in 2034. He only pitched in two games in his entire high school career, getting blown out of both starts. However, he's continually improved and risen through the minor leagues in quick order, in fact now having pitched at an amazing four levels in just the first month of the young 2036 season. "We like him a lot, still unsure if he's a starter or a reliever but when we think the matchup is right, we'll bring him up as needed," Allen explained.