WHIV 2037.12- Player Grades: Position Player Group

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WHIV 2037.12- Player Grades: Position Player Group

Post by recte44 » Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:14 am

BATTING STATS & RANKINGS
Batting Average .266 - 5th in JL
On-Base Percentage .347 - 2nd in JL
Slugging Percentage .444 - 9th in JL
On-Base + Slugging .791 - 5th in JL
Runs Scored 877 - 1st in JL
Hits 1481 - 5th in JL
Extra-Base Hits 534 - 12th in JL
Home Runs 216 - 7th in JL
Bases On Balls 619 - 4th in JL
Strikeouts 1160 - 8th in JL
Stolen Bases 249 - 1st in JL

The Good:
- Small Ball!
The Hustlers led the league in Runs Scored despite being 9th in SLG, 7th in Homers and 8th in Strikeouts. They did this largely on the back of finishing 2nd in the league with a .347 OBP and leading the league with 249 steals.

The Bad:
- Power Outage!
The Hustlers have seemingly gotten away from the Power Profile (coupled with pitching and defense) that has been their bread and butter over the years. They only had two players with more than 20 homers and ultimately finished with 30 less homers hit (216) than the pitching staff gave up (246).

The Player Grades:

Quant Kouros 2B/1B- This was a breakout year for Kouros who is truly a difference maker offensively even though he doesn't fit the typical Hustlers profile. The 99 steals are the headliner and that gaudy number makes it easy to overlook the fact that he was a truly elite offensive player with 200 hits, 137 runs scored, 51 doubles, 7 triples, 5 homers, 61 RBI, 280 total bases, 77 walks to just 61 strikeouts, a slash line of .321/.409/.449 and a team leading 5.1 WAR. The only knock on him remains his defense at second base, where he posted a -8.1 range. Grade: A-

Henry Rectenberg LF/RF- Here's the traditional Hustlers player. Rectenberg hit 32 homers and drove in 110 while scoring 109 times. He also walked 77 times, led the Hustlers with 288 total bases, and added 31 steals as the cherry on top. Henry slashed .309/.403/.549 and racked up 4.5 WAR. While not the most rangy outfielder he commited just one error over the course of 107 games split between the corner outfield positions. A franchise cornerstone. Grade: A

Gervasio Ridder 1B- A dismal July (.197/.287/.368) had everyone wondering if the extension was a bad idea. He corrected course with a huge August and at the end of the year his numbers were accepable, although nowhere near his peak. His .276 average, .345 OBP and .502 SLG were all the lowest of his career. 2.2 WAR was fine for the $8M paid to him in 2037 but next year he's getting $13 million so the Hustlers hope for a bounceback. He's facing lefties less and less these days in order to maximize his performance. Grade: C+

Miguel Rodriguez SS- How many would have wagered on Rodriguez finishing with more WAR (2.3) than Ridder? He's got three great skill sets and he maximized all three: defense (+8.3 ZR at shortstop), on-base skills (.364 OBP) and speed (26 steals). The Hustlers could care less about his .655 OPS- he's a truly valuable player. Grade: B+

Valeri Kharlamov 3B/2B- No one offered him a major league deal by the start of Spring Training. The Hustlers signed him to a minor league deal with invite to Spring Training. Soak that in for a moment. What happened next was truly unexpected. "The Ankle" turned back the clock all while learning a new position at the hot corner, finishing third on the team in WAR (3.7), slashing .283/.396/.471 with 19 homers and 58 RBI. His career seemingly resurrected, he'll go back on the open market looking for one last big payday. Grade: A-

Juan Sweetworld CF- He's still an elite defensive center fielder, but offensively it all went sideways this season. .241/.284/.411 doesn't get it done for a player at this salary level. The Hustlers are praying for an opt-out, but realistically are preparing to give him another shot in 2038. Grade: D

Jayden Harsnett RF/CF- Had his ups and downs this year but overall was about the player that Vegas expected, with outstanding right field defense, great OBP and pop and a lower average. 2.3 WAR in just 404 at-bats. His opt-out decision is far more difficult than Sweetworld's. Grade: C+

Antonio Cruz 3B/2B/LF- The Hustlers top utility guy had his best overall season in a Vegas uniform, though still far short of what the Hustlers believe he could be. Great defense, speed and gap power make him a valuable player. Grade: C+

Eliseu Satino LF/DH- He may have been viewed by some as the "throw in" to the Hank Brewer trade, but the Hustlers viewed him as the primary piece. He established himself as a bat to build around in his 59 games with Vegas, batting .326/.356/.552 with 23 doubles, 9 homers and 48 RBI. Projected over a full season that equates to 62 doubles, 24 homers, 130 RBI and 330 total bases. You'll have to excuse our child-like giddiness here. Grade: A

Hector Gomez RF/LF- Through July Gomez was a staple of the "versus lefties" lineup, in fact the cleanup man. Then August and September came and with it came reality. He went a combined 6/55 in those months, and by the end of the year was completely out of the lineup. The real Gomez is probably somewhere in between- a nice bench bat but little more. Grade: D

Antonio Baca 3B- He had had three years to establish himself as a big leaguer and after 958 at-bats he's a -0.3 WAR player. It's time to move on. Grade: F

Robinson Lopez C- Lopez followed up his emergent 2036 campaign with an eerily identical 2037. He's the perfect backup catcher, with some pop, decent defense and no personality issues. He inked a one year extension for just under $900K to reprise his role next year. If the Hustlers can't find another starting catcher his role could expand. Grade: B-

Sadaharu Oh III RF- He was the odd man out with the return of Jayden Harsnett, and then with Satino and Barajas coming on board he got buried deeper. To his credit he didn't pout, put up great numbers in Milwaukee (AAA), and when he finally got called up he absolutely unleashed the fury on BBA pitching in September (.318/.423/.773, 6 homers in 44 at-bats). It's puzzling that a team lamenting its lack of power couldn't find a spot for Oh III, and you can bet they won't repeat that mistake in 2038. Grade: B+

Richard Wishart 1B/DH- Wishart was acquired for two reasons. First, he looked like the perfect platoon partner for Ridder against lefties. Second, he had a minor league option remaining. Both of those reasons came into play and Wishart did what he was supposed to when on the big club (9 HR, 20 RBI in 114 AB). Out of options for next year he could earn a bigger role. Grade: C

Aymeric Barajas LF- The Hustlers grabbed both Satino AND Barajas in the Brewer deal because at the time they had injuries in the outfield. Barajas did fine (.282/.342/.495, 6 HR, 20 RBI in 103 at-bats) but didn't pop like Satino did. Now they have to decide first if he has a role on next years team and second if they can afford him. Grade: C+

Miguel Gil UT- Absolutely terrible. Actually passed through waivers in a shocking development. NO future. Grade: F

Allan MacHugh C- Rescued from the scrap heap after Robles flopped, he wasn't exactly horrible but not good either. His defense was a surprise. Vegas wanted to bring him back in 2038 but his demands are stupid. Grade: C-

Benjamin Clark C- He got a small window of opportunity in September to stake his claim to the catcher job for 2038 and flopped. Grade: D-

Ron Dumont 1B- Got some at-bats in September and impressed. Kind of a copy of Wishart so it'll be tough for him to earn a spot. Grade: B

Kazuo Yamamoto 3B- He was the biggest loser of the Kharlamov signing, and could stand to be the biggest winner from his loss. Current front runner for the starting 3B job next year. Grade: Inc

Antonio Cortez OF- Wasn't much room for him this year. If Sweetworld departs that would change. Grade: Inc

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