WHIV 2056.30- Season Grades: Position Players

[recte44]

Tristan "Casino" Lloyd, 3B- .282/.345/.476/.820, 3.5 WAR, 31 doubles, 28 homers, 86 RBI, 282 total bases. Third season, now 25 years old and looks to be the future piece to build around for the Hustlers position player group. Led the team in at-bats, hits, doubles and total bases; all while playing a solid third base. Grade: B+

Juan Luis Manuel, SS- Was expected to simply play good shortstop defense, which he did (157 G, 1291/1 innings, +6.2 ZR). What the Hustlers didn't expect was that he would be any help offensively, and in fact, he was decent (.248/.321/.389/.710, 12 HR, 64 RBI) en route to an overall 3.1 WAR. Nice surprise! Grade: A-

Tom Rudge, RF- Any kind of output from Rudge this season would have been a "disappointment" compared to his Silk-winning 2056 season. He was good, as usual, this year before getting hurt. Grade: B-

Claudio Morgan, C- Here's the thing with Morgan. Vegas thinks he's a Top 10 catcher. Unfortunately for them and for Morgan, he hasn't played that way yet. Offensively and defensively, he was solid but not what the team was expecting him to be as of yet. Still young. Grade: C-

Kidane Ata, LF- The ageless wonder was having another solid year before getting hurt. In fact, he was the only All-Star on the team this year, and looks poised to win another Zimmer Award as well. He's now a free agent and will be 40 years young next year. The Hustlers would love to have him back, but it will depend on money. Grade: B-

Chris Hall, DH- He's not the typical Hustler, we know. But dude can slug. And he walks more than anyone on the team despite never playing against left-handed pitching. Projected to be no lower than third in the Johnson League Gillstrom Award voting. Grade: B+

Creegan Corney, 2B/1B/LF/RF- Vegas expected him to play second base primarily and fill in for Stewart Turton while the latter was out with injury. It didn't go as planned. He started slow, was waived a couple times, never claimed, then re-joined the team and played a lot of outfield in the second half but was never particularly impactful. Grade: D

Murad Abdul-Alim, CF- Since Ata moved to left field, the Hustlers have not been able to find a center fielder. The primary guy this year ended up being Abdul-Alim, who started strong at the plate but fell off a cliff in the second half. Still, he can field the position and he's cheap, which gives him value if he's hitting .187 or not. Grade: D+

Ernesto Sousa, 1B- The magic might be over with Sousa. When he signed, he started on fire like the past couple seasons but faded as the season wore on. Might be his last hurrah. Grade: C-

Stewart Turton, 2B- His value to the team showed when he missed the first half plus. Back up in time to play 54 games and back at his best position, he shined at the plate and in the field. Grade: B

John Stanley, C/DH- Let's be frank...Stanley's strength isn't his defensive aptitude behind the plate. He can flat out smoke left-handed pitchers, and that makes him valuable. Grade: B

Eugene Wolfe, 2B/3B- Expectations were high at the start of the year, but he couldn't gain traction as a second baseman, with ZR measures hating him there. He went down to AAA, got more experience at third base, came back here and there. Utility guy outlook. Grade: D

Roosevelt Davis, LF- Davis' stock was going up according to scouts. The Hustlers saw him tearing up RHP in the minors, and gave him two extended shots in the BBA to do the same. He never could get hot, and his future is murky at best. Grade: D

Others:

Eli Landgre, IF- Got DFA'd, now 30 years old, out of plans.

Omer Dijkstra, CF- Somehow found the fountain of youth in September, but realistically his time is done.

Chris Thomas, LF- Trade Deadline acquisition, he did not work out.

Kenny Qasim, LF/RF- Batted .333 in 72 at-bats. Is it real? Vegas has to assume it is and give him a shot next year.

Brian Flint, 1B- He was hurt a couple times, and in short stints couldn't get on track. That being said, he'll probably get first crack at at-bats against righties.

[Jwalk100]

With the young core of players you have you should be in the playoffs next season. Especially if you van keep Turton on the field.

[recte44]

Maybe. We'll see.

[trmmilwwi]

Love these reviews as I can use it as a gauge against my list of grades, good stuff. Abdul-alim looks a lot like my young CF (mcintyre.

[Lane]

wonder what happened to Sousa's HTML history. as I suspected when I traded him to Nashville, he never really had the kind of success that the contact and power would indicate was possible