It's been a wild ride for 26 year old Jason Vanega. The Las Vegas native has long dreamed about playing for his hometown Hustlers, but there were many speed bumps along the way.
The Hustlers drafted him in the first round (21st overall) of the 2000 draft. He struggled through his first two seasons in the minors at Rookie Ball and Class A level before improving a bit in his third year (second at Class A). In 2003, he repeated Class A for the third year and finally showed the ability that led the Hustlers to draft him (.928 OPS) and earned a promotion to Class AA Reno. There, he flamed out again. (.559 OPS). In 2004, he was drafted by the Hawaii Tropics in the Rule 5 draft. After going 1 for 10 in a pinch hitting role with the Tropics, they offered him back to the Hustlers. He spent the rest of 2004 as a bench player for AA Reno, producing little (.649 OPS) and looking like a career minor leaguer.
Following the 2004 season, Vanega decided to re-dedicate himself to the game. After speaking with Hustlers manager Elroy Futon, Vanega was led to former Hustlers great Riley Hinson. Hinson worked closely with Vanega throughout the offseason, getting him back to form and focused on success.
The Hustlers put Vanega back to a familiar spot, AA Reno to start the 2005 season. He seized a starting position and never let go. He set career highs in runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, and walks on his way to hitting .325/.420/.477. He earned a promotion to AAA Milwaukee, but he would only be there for a short time. He played out the end of the regular season, and then hit .625 for the Choppers in their playoffs. There was only one more step to take, and that was back to the majors.
The Hustlers purchased his contract and brought him to the majors following the Choppers exit from the AAA playoffs. Vanega got 12 at-bats for the Hustlers, batting .333/.385/.667.
Vanega was back in the conversation as a legitimate prospect.
Starting the 2006 season, it was pretty clear that the Hustlers were looking to move one or both of their veteran first baseman. They did move Benjamin Rivero, but John Catron remained. Vanega would have to force the issue to gain a spot. He was also competing against two other minor league first baseman in Diego Vargas and Enrico Gonzalez.
Vanega gained playing time quickly at first base and never let it go. He ended up batting .404/.491/.681 for the spring, and clearly winning the first base job (vs RHP). Catron would slide to third base, and the club would live with his defense there in order to get Vanega's bat into the lineup. Vargas becomes the club's top pinch hitter (a role long projected for him) and Gonzalez (still with options) was sent to AAA Milwaukee.
Hometown boy makes good. What a journey!