Broken Bat - Help: Which player to drop?

Forum >> Help >> Which player to drop?

Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#40817	10/16/2016 10:41:57 am
jetsrock48 Joined: 11/25/2013 Posts: 150 Davenport Cobras IV.3	I have two struggling players, and a potential superstar prospect that is almost ready to be promoted. But there are a few issues with this. First off - the prospect. Jeff Fowler http://brokenbat.org/player/110277 is 24 and is lagging a bit behind in development (in my opinion). He has a 15 pot but won't be that great of a hitter but should be good in all categories. I see him as either a 3B or C. He has a full 3B on his profile and I have him training as a catcher in the minors. Option one is to have him continue to develop in the minors this year and promote him next year when he is 25. Onto the current players. 3B - Lester Berger http://brokenbat.org/player/81232 .He is a former superstar on my team with a great skill set but has fallen off the cliff the past two seasons. He started out this year decently but is now pretty much matching what he put up the past two seasons. He is 30 years old so I figure at this point he won't regain what he used to have C - Saburo Agano http://brokenbat.org/player/93822 a 28 year old catcher with decent offensive skills. He took a decent step forward in 2027 (offensively) but fell back last year and is not impressing this year. Agano is younger by two years, while Berger has a more impressive skillset. So both players are pretty much giving me similar stats and are okay defensively. I absolutely need to have Fowler in my lineup next year, starting full time. So I figure if he can match the numbers these guys are throwing up I might as well promote him now. So question is who do I release? My team is competitive in league 3...mostly built on pitching. So if Fowler will be batting < .200 which is a possibility, I can't really afford to keep throwing him out there. What do you guys recommend? Updated Sunday, October 16 2016 @ 10:42:33 am PDT Updated Sunday, October 16 2016 @ 10:43:07 am PDT Updated Sunday, October 16 2016 @ 10:44:03 am PDT Updated Sunday, October 16 2016 @ 10:45:29 am PDT

#40818	10/16/2016 11:07:46 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9600 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I recommend option 1. I think Fowler's development looks fine. But he only has 40 games in AAA. If you don't want to stunt his growth you should really leave him in AAA through spring training next year. You should be able to promote him after spring training next year without too much concern about stunting him.

#40819	10/16/2016 11:14:34 am
jetsrock48 Joined: 11/25/2013 Posts: 150 Davenport Cobras IV.3	My biggest concern is that I have seen that most prospects struggle in year one. One of my biggest things was to promote Fowler this year (I actually gave him 70 AB two years ago) and get the learning curve out of the way earlier. Is this a bad strategy?

#40821	10/16/2016 11:47:54 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9600 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Players need to get a certain amount of time in the minors otherwise they will be stunted. I'm pretty sure Fowler needs at least this full year in AAA to avoid getting stunted. I generally try not to bring guys like this up for early innings because he is unlikely to really be ready by 25. All players are going to do a little worse when they are first up because their abilities are low. There is no magic about the first year. I have plenty of guys who stunk for the first 4 years up. Updated Sunday, October 16 2016 @ 11:48:59 am PDT

#40826	10/16/2016 2:00:47 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Agree completely with Rock. Additionally, C doesn't really need good fielding, so the amazing fielding would be wasted at catcher. 3B is the way to go, and like Rock said, I'd wait until he has had a full time frame similar to what he spent at A and AA before bringing him up. If you do bring him up earlier than that he will likely fall short of what he would have done if you waited. I am running multiple iterations of this experiment right now.