"I remember feeling indifferent about those two guys," Rectenwald recalled. "I had the means, Gregg needed help, I took him up on the deal. It was a fair trade then. Now, if you look at how the trade actually worked out for us, well, that's a different story."
The Hustlers were bursting at the seams with young outfielders at the time. "Commish has a glut of these 45 rated outfielders," said San Fernando GM Kurt Imber. It was true. There was really no path for a contact first bat with borderline defense to carve out a real role on the Hustlers. So Angel Trejo played mostly at AAA Milwaukee in the first half of the season, after initially making the Opening Day roster with thoughts of using him in a pinch-hitting role. Ultimately, cooler heads prevailed and he was sent to Milwaukee to play regularly. There, he hit .377/.424/.516/.940 and the Hustlers could ignore him no more. He'd also learned first base, which gave him slightly more flexibility. Brought up to Vegas, he kept hitting. Eventually, he worked his way into regular playing time and ended the 2061 season with a BBA slash line of .346/.384/.486/.870 in 69 games (243 at-bats). "Our initial assessment of Trejo was wrong," admitted Rectenwald. "Sure, he wasn't a big power hitter, but he did hit 20 doubles in that short time, and we value doubles highly here in Vegas." Trejo was now part of the plan for 2063. He played nearly everyday, splitting time between left field and first base, and produced an amazing slash line of .330/.365/.537/.902, with 58 doubles and a surprising 22 homers, which ultimately produced a 4.5 WAR. "It's safe to say that Angel has solidified himself as a core piece of our team moving forward, and that's an understatement," chuckled Rectenwald.
Trejo was not even the player the Hustlers liked best in the deal. That honor went to right-handed reliever Rafael Gonzalez. In fact, he spent most of 2061 with the Hustlers and pitched well. "Still, we thought he was a nice middle reliever or perhaps a set-up man at best," said Rectenwald. "Our pitching coach unlocked something in him, though." Gonzalez pitched in 36 games for Las Vegas, 61.2 innings with a 2-1 record, no saves, a 3.36 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 1.3 WAR. "It was a nice season for a 23 year old rookie," said Rectenwald. Then he hit a next step in development in 2062 (see chart):
Only a rough May (8.76 ERA in 12.1 innings) skewed the overall numbers for Gonzalez in 2062. Named the closer in July, he saved 15 games in three months and ended the season with a 9-4 record, 3.79 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 54 games, 71.1 innings, 1.4 WAR and a bright future.
