WHIV 2059.17- Catching Up

[recte44]

A lot has happened with the Hustlers since mid-August when we last checked in. So it's time for a good old fashioned news dump on this lovely Tuesday.

1) Fletcher Quick didn't work out. NEXT!

2) Vegas made a couple of deals at the deadline, one for immediate help and one with an eye towards next season. They added Tulon Koruturk to their bullpen, dealing prospects Diwan bin Badr al Din (CF) and Alan Puckeridge (RP) to the Surfers. He should be a high leverage guy down the stretch and moving forward. Then, loaded with third base prospects, Vegas dealt Stephen Lockwood (3B) to the Yellow Springs Nine, getting back a couple of upper level minor leaguers in return. Phil Tatham (LF/UT) is an interesting lefty bat and should figure into the Hustlers bench plans as soon as next year. They also picked up a wildcard in Xylon Missiakos (LHP), a 29 year old lefty with great potential but at age 29, will he ever achieve it? Needing pitching as much as they do, the Hustlers wanted to at least take a chance on him.

3) September callups happened too. When you live close to the BBA's Salary Cap, calling up prospects in September often means having to part ways with some older players to clear both roster spots and salary room. The Hustlers said goodbye to 40 year old catcher Bryan Harris, who looked like a great story early in the year but since June 1 was 5 for 58 (.086 AVG); and also veteran left-fielder Jin-soo Chong, who proved in his short stint with Las Vegas in June that he could still be a valuable BBA player. The Hustlers wanted to give him a shot to catch on with someone else, maybe a GBC team for their pennant drive. Several of the call-ups have been up before, guys like Ajanidha Praveen (RHP), Jesse Holman (C), and Jon Bevan (IF/OF). Coming up for the first time are Luigi Canavan, a lefty swinging first baseman/DH who dominated Triple-A this year (.330/.435/.509/.944, 24 homers, 94 RBI, 91 walks, 3.8 WAR); Don Dulaney, righty swinging power hitting corner infielder/outfielder who scorched Double-A (.316/.374/.481/.855, 30 doubles, 6 homers, 62 RBI, 1.1 WAR) and Triple-A (.341/.402/.545/.948, 18 doubles, 9 homers, 46 RBI, 1.7 WAR) this year; Gabriel Herrera, a 22 year old catcher who was extremely solid sharing time behind the dish in Triple-A (65 G, 260 AB, .319/.374/.512/.886, 13 HR, 47 RBI, 1.5 WAR); and finally Kamatari Kino, a 22 year old Japanese outfielder who was acquired earlier in the year from San Fernando and had solid combined Triple-A numbers with Brooks (SFV) and Milwaukee (LV) this season (.289/.327/.468/.796, 18 doubles, 16 homers, 63 RBI, 12 steals, +5.4 ZR combined in all three outfield positions).

4) Meanwhile, the Hustlers continue to be just on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Frankly, they just have been a very average team after April. Take away their 18-9 record from April, and the Hustlers have posted just a 60-58 mark since. It's not good enough.

[BaseClogger]

You must have slipped Perry Wallace thru waivers without me noticing. See he's in AAA now.

[BaseClogger]

I like the look of Bevan and Dulaney. You are indeed flush with young third baseman.

I'll be curious to see how Kino plays. I loved that he was a captain but wished he had more pronounced platoon splits since he's a bit of a stretch as an everyday player.

[recte44]

You must have slipped Perry Wallace thru waivers without me noticing. See he's in AAA now.

Indeed I did. He dominated down there.