2036 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

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2036 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

Post by bcslouck » Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:29 pm

The Hustlers have been a playoff mainstay over the lifetime of the franchise with Matt Rectenwald leading the way the whole time. They've only missed the playoffs 13 times since 1995, with only 5 though seasons being under .500. Needless to say even when they aren't making the playoffs, they are still a solid team. That was the case in 2035. Getting off to a slow start for the second straight year, expansion wasn't kind to them as newcomer Mexico City came in and won the division while an up and coming poweful Phoenix offense also finished ahead of them, nabbing one of the lesser wildcard spots. Vegas didn't make a ton of moves this year, though the ones they made are potentially impact ones.

Rotation
One of their big signings was Gerardo Fajardo was signed to a 5-year contract worth a total of $45,000,000. Coming over from Yellow Springs, at 33 years old, his numbers weren't quite as good as they were in Huntsville before that. His peripherals were better than the traditional numbers. He could be a solid mid-rotation option. Hyun-sik Chang had his best year as a ML'er last year and looks to build on that. Hao Kun was set as the #3 in Spring Training and looks to be another solid SP. His debut last year was solid, though his peripherals suggest he may of been a bit lucky. Chin Kim threw a career high in innings last year and was exactly league average ERA wise. They will need him to take that next step this year. Jesus Lopez is another good looking arm but hasn't had the best Spring. He may go back to AAA. Floyd Carter is another veteran option but his Spring has been bad too. He could be DFA'd and I'm sure Vegas could find another arm. They have some other solid options. It could be a decent group though I think some of the arms are still young and may take some more lumps.

Bullpen
Shawn Huber is one of the top bullpen arms in the league. He will anchor the 'pen once again. Augate Balun and Tony Medine both have young, live arms, but struggled in 2035. To this point, both have had strong Springs. Maximo Trevino is another strong, young bullpen arm and actually had a nice ML debut last year. He could see late inning work this year too. The team has a lot of solid or better options to fill out the bullpen. It's a young unit so it could have it's struggles. But this group of arms could be among the best in the league.

Lineup
Quant Kouros is set to leadoff and looks to be a good one. He won't hit for much power, but he should get on base at a decent clip. He had a solid debut last year, and at 20, looks to take that next step. Jayden Harsnett looks to be batting 2nd and is the biggest addition for the Hustlers. The team will have him in RF, where he is stronger defender than CF. His career of .358 OBP and solid power makes him a potentially great #2 hitter. Henry Rectenberg will be batting 3rd, at least to start the season. He hasn't hit hit potential year and will have to be a better hitter to keep that spot in the lineup. The long time Hustler Gervasio Ridder will bat 4th and will look to keep up his Hall of Fame track. The fact that he's also potentially player for another contract only boosts the potential for another monster year. Hank Brewer will bat 5th and after a down 2034, rebounded for a solid 2035. Like Ridder, he will be looking to build on his Hall of Fame resume. Kazuo Yamamoto and Antonio Baca are 3B options. Baca looks to be the better long term option and I think will lock down the job at some point this season. Juan Sweetworld is still a good CF overall, but the Hustlers aren't paying for what he was in 2035. They'd like to see him be what he was in 2034. Does he still have that in him? Antonio Cortez and Hector Gomez are the option in LF and look to be a solid platoon. Kagehisa Echi and Antonio Cruz platooned SS in Spring Training and could form a solid platoon if that sticks too. Cruz is the better hitter but Echi is the better defender.

Defense
Depending on what lineup they roll with, the defense could be slightly above average to below average. Looking at SS, Echi is a plus defender there but Cruz isn't, so that's a spot that could be a negative depending on who plays. Same thing with 3B, as I like Baca better than Yamamoto. Kouros is a big minus at 2B and won't be good there. So the left side of the infield could be pretty good or not while the left side is probably below average. The outfield is solid, though Sweetworld wasn't the same last year as previous years. He was still good, but not great and that could matter. Luckily, Harness in RF could help Sweetworld out by letting him not have to cover as much ground and shading toward LF, where Rectenberg doesn't have the range of those two.

Bench
The team has a couple C options in camp, but that doesn't really matter. They may give Brewer a day off a week, but they will probably be a solid defender. Carlos Torres will probably be one of the bench OF's as he play all 3 positions at a plus level. He can also play 2B if needed. He is the only one other than some of the platoon options named that seems a lock. But the bench will be versatile position wise and have some pop.

Prospects
Miguel Rodriguez isn't the best hitter, but is a great defender all around. If he doesn't make the team out of the Spring, he'll be on the team but the All-Star break. Alvin Chartrand is a pitcher we could see get some time. So it Manuel Orozco. Javier Garcia is another live arm who could make an impact. They have better prospects, but these seem to be the guys that could make a solid impact this year.

Prediction
Las Vegas will be good again as always. Good enough to make the playoffs? I'm not sure. They have a lot of talent but they are young. The team could take some lumps this year and could have defensive issues if they play certain players more than others. With some of the other teams who made leaps last year still around, I think it could be tough for them to get back in. I'll put them at 86-76 and being the 2nd team out of the playoffs with an eye on 2037 to take the division back.

*Sorry if I missed anything. Did this without OOTP in front of me.
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Re: 2036 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

Post by agrudez » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:29 pm

Harsnett and Fajardo were probably 2 top 5 FAs going to LV this offseason. Any time you have that kind of talent influx, it's always better to bet the over, imo.
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Re: 2036 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

Post by bcslouck » Sun Dec 09, 2018 4:27 pm

You were right on the over, but that was a solid prediction in my book. :D
Brandon Slouck
Rocky Mountain Oysters (2058 - present)
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