2060 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

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Knucklehead254
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2060 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

Post by Knucklehead254 » Sat Aug 03, 2024 11:29 pm

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Notable Departures:

RF Tom Rudge
2B Stewart Turton
SP Mahad Einan
RP John Dawson
RP Steve Warren

Notable Acquistons:

SP Ramón González
SP Tony Hollar
RP Xuan Ngo
SS Kevin Corbett

Coming off of their 3rd straight 90-Win season, the Las Vegas Hustlers are somewhat entering a new era as they say goodbye to two of their homegrown legends in Tom Rudge and Stewart Turton. But they sure should have the pieces in place to take over for them to continue the great streak they're on.

PITCHING:

The Hustlers will rely on one of the most underrated pitchers in Bret Harrell to be the ace of their rotation. Last year he finished with a 3.14 ERA, the best in the Johnson League, yet didn't even receive enough votes to finish in the top 3 of Nebraska Award voting. At just 27 he should continue to play at this elite level which will be huge for the Vegas franchise. José Barrón returns after a brief cup of coffee in Free Agency, re-signing with a 2 year $12,000,000 contract. It could potentially be a steal if he can perform up to his expectations. He will be looking to shake off a rusty postseason and show he can still play good baseball though at age 34 it's possible that his best is already past him. (Update: He hurt his shoulder and is now expected to miss at least the first month of the season). Arnold Cantrell will get his first full season as a Hustler after he was acquired in June of last season from San Fernando. His 0.7 WAR in 21 games (15 starts) was less than ideal but it seems like he should have a bounce back year. The 4th spot looks to go to Ramón González, who just signed a 2 year $12,800,000 from Free Agency. Carlos Berrera will take the last spot for now mostly due to a herniated disc, which will keep him out of action for two days. He's had a solid two seasons spot starting and will be a huge limiter against homeruns. We'll see if he holds on to a starting job this season.

The bullpen will be anchored by Todd Stone who is coming off a career high 44 save season. The 11 time All-Star is showing no signs of slowing down. Setting him up with be Tulon Korturk who they saved from the Long Beach water acquired from Long Beach late last year. In the middle relief we see former comeback player of the year Reese Newsome, who is joined by Gamal bin Badr (Fun fact: Both were starters for the 2058 and 2059 Vancouver Mounties), newly signed Tony Hollar, Eric Buckson and now Xuan Ngo joins on a trade from Charlotte. Providing Long Relief and emergency starts will be Manuel García, a pitcher struggling to find his role in the BBA. Perry Wallace will be brought in to take on more left handed batters in the order. All in all I think this is a very sturdy bullpen that should work out nicely.

POSITION PLAYERS:

After a career high 5.0 WAR season, Claudio Morgan will look to continue his dominant play behind the plate. He won both the Zimmer Glove Award and Charles Puckett golden bat award at catcher with a .324/.371/.507 line and 3.5 ZR with 3.0 FRM. It's the final year of his team control so expect him to play lights out to potentially get that big money contract. Backing him up will be recently acquired Taylor Michaels. He's a great defensive glove who can't hit, which is what to expect from a backup.

At first base will be Helmut Grün of course. Injuries last year limited him to just 31 games but he looks like he should be ready to go for this season. What will be interesting to watch is if Czar Mamatulin plays a significant role at first base as well. The 23 year old will be the DH but will take a more active role if Grun continues to face injury problems this year.

Looking to follow up a fantastic season at second base is homegrown 22 year old Randy Wright. He finished with a 3.1 WAR in 143 games and will be replacing the departing Turton full-time now. He looks really really good and should become the center piece to replace Turton if all goes well. He's got great contact as well as solid defensive intangibles.

At Shortstop will be another youngster, 21-year-old Jorge Madrid. This will be his first full season in the majors and his plus defense should be a major asset since he won't be driving in many runs himself, but at this position you need defense and hat's exactly what he'll provide.

At third base will be Tristan Lloyd who accumulated a career high 4 WAR last season. Nearing 29 he will become a free agent after this season so I expect him to be at his absolute best.

Left field will be platooned by Roberto Delgado and Kamatari Kino. Both are 23 years old and are coming off of decent showings in the outfield last year for the team as well. It'll be curious to see if one surpasses the other to become the everyday starter.

At centerfield I was originally gonna talk about what a pleasure Mike Cox is, but he got dealt away to Charlotte. Taking his place instead will be Roberto Hampton, a 22-year-old rookie. He wont do much offensively, but he looks to be a very good defensive piece with his range and speed, meaning he'll be stealing bases the off chance he gets on base. I just wish that arm was slightly better but it'll get there.

Rightfield will be held down by Tankut Saltik. He tantalizes me with that 9 power potential, but given that he's 26 means he could be potentially at the end of his dev cycle. He didn't do to well in the majors last season, slashing .229/.290/.377 in 47 games with just 4 homeruns. The bright side is that it's such a small sample size I'm sure it'll work out fine with a full season.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I know he feels like he may start rebuilding, but I disagree. I think Vegas has done well enough to contend for a playoff spot. Do I think they'll win 90 games again? Probably not, but I'm certainly no master of predictions. I say they go 87-75!
Last edited by Knucklehead254 on Sat Aug 03, 2024 11:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Aaron Wharram (660-636)
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Re: 2060 Las Vegas Hustlers

Post by Knucklehead254 » Sat Aug 03, 2024 11:31 pm

Also god bless @Lane's link generator
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Aaron Wharram (660-636)
General Manager of the Vancouver Mounties! (2055 - Present)
Playoff App: 2056, 2057, 2058, 2062

Former GM of the Sydney Sharks! (22-22) (August 2054 - October 2054)

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Re: 2060 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

Post by recte44 » Sun Aug 04, 2024 5:55 pm

Great preview. I think you’re higher on my chances than I am by far.

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Knucklehead254
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Re: 2060 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

Post by Knucklehead254 » Wed Oct 02, 2024 10:13 pm

I’m pretty good at this predicting thing huh? Got the wins right, Only one loss off 😁
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Aaron Wharram (660-636)
General Manager of the Vancouver Mounties! (2055 - Present)
Playoff App: 2056, 2057, 2058, 2062

Former GM of the Sydney Sharks! (22-22) (August 2054 - October 2054)

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Re: 2060 Las Vegas Hustlers Preview

Post by RonCo » Mon Oct 07, 2024 9:38 am

You should do everyone. :)
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