The Brewster

In 2046, after four straight seasons of finishing way, way out of first place in their division, the Hustlers got back on top of the Frontier with 88 wins. Led by Kidane Ata (who wasn't all that young even then) and Nathaniel Davis, the team broke out of the doldrums. This would be the first of eight consecutive seasons that would end with Vegas wearing the division crown, which period would include three straight association championships to boot. But baseball is cyclical. Nobody stays on top forever, though from outside it can sometimes appear otherwise.

The Hustlers are once again in a fallow period, with three straight seasons of no October baseball, though only one season where they lost more than they won, so lets not get too misty-eyed. This team's rock-bottom doesn't seem all that rocky, or bottomy. Recent history suggests they might be in for another sub-par year before cranking the win machine back up again. The Las Vegas offseason, though, implies that the club is not content with that timetable. This looks like a club that intends to compete. Preseason predictions seem to agree, as they have the Hustlers pegged as the only one-hundred game winner in the league and coasting to a division title.

Las Vegas lost a bevy of not particularly valuable players after the close of the 2056 season, but added a high profile star in slugger Helmut Grün, and a fairly steady back of the rotation arm in Mike Alexander. Grün joins a lineup that finished seventh in the Johnson League in runs scored (764) and team OPS (.761). Alexander joins a rotation that finished fifth in the JL in ERA (4.24), and a defense that was ninth in runs allowed (755). With Turton's return to the club after testing the free agency waters, Grün looks to be consigned to first base, which is where he probably should be. Alexander looks like he'll slot in as the fourth or fifth starter.

While Grün is most likely now the best hitter on the team, the Hustlers' second best hitter might be their young designated hitter. You might not have heard of him, given the communications office's all Rudge all the time hype machine, but Las Vegas has a really good designated hitter in Chris Hall, at least most of the time. Granted, Hall can't hit lefties, like, at all, but when he's hitting against right-handed opposition, he rakes to the tune of a 143 wRC+ (Grün has a 146, and can hit lefties at least a little bit). The big (6'7” - 200 lbs), twenty-one year-old Texan should be a fixture in the middle of the Hustlers lineup for quite some time, and may help form the nucleus of the next dynasty.

And, yes, Rudge can still hit against everybody, and bully for him, but his days of starting 130+ games a season may at long last be over as age belatedly catches up with him. It will be interesting to see if load management enters into the thinking of they who construct the lineups when it comes to Rudge, or would anyone dare to tell Rudge to take it easy this year? You want Rudge in your lineup, yes, but you especially want a healthy Rudge playing in the postseason.

Is Kenny Qasim really that good against left-handed pitching? Taking the under on a repeat of that .974 OPS (in 55 AB) verses LHP in 2056. How does a team have two guys named Qasim, who aren't related?

This is the sort of rotation that won't keep a front office executive up at night. The Nordic combo of Norwegian Einan and Dane Gimsing are a reliable duo. Payne and Brooks almost equally so, though the balky elbow of Brooks gives one but a moment's pause. Alexander had a good walk year in 2056, and has put up 30+ starts for three years running, though he hasn't historically reacted positively to changes of scenery.

An area of need that went largely unaddressed is the bullpen. Closer Todd Stone, whom the Hustlers picked up in late July from San Antonio, is very good. The rest of the group is undistinguished. Last year, the Hustlers bullpen was eleventh in the JL in ERA (4.51), but the team also tied for the most saves, with sixty (saves are a weird stat). Overall bullpen performance likely won't be significantly improved.

It's a good team. Is it 100 wins good, though? Are they that much better than the clubs likely to be chasing them? The Frontier looks like it just might be the division to watch, with boppers galore. Mexico City has added Adam (Walks are for Sissies) Backhouse to the heart of their lineup. Calgary added Resurrection (Hallelujah, He is Risen) Santos III to theirs. Phoenix picked up aging vets Klooster and Zalapa for one last ride, perhaps. I think it will be a tighter race than early predictions indicated, with Vegas tallying closer to 95 wins than 100.

We put a bunch of money into Grun and Alexander. I'm gambling that I can patchwork a bullpen. Having Stone is a good start.