Broken Bat - Help: New Manager

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Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#46595	03/12/2017 3:23:17 am
Gambler75 Joined: 02/23/2017 Posts: 80 Brockton Bombers V.15	One last thought ... it's telling me to shove 3B/C Rueben Apodaca, down to rookie ball. He's 23 ... My understanding was that's too old for rookie, also strange where he has a 72 SI, same or better than my other A ball players, who aren't complaining. He's had one bump since signing him and plunking him into single A, so I assume leaving him there is okay, despite the "little overmatched" message?

#46677	03/13/2017 7:53:41 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9600 Haverhill Halflings III.1	In general I would recommend leaving guys at the level the AI suggests (at least until you get a better feel for the game). Apodaca is one of those guys who will probably never pan out because he is so far behind in development. His SI is only high because of his defensive capabilities. Range and Arm don't develop over time, so a guy with high Range, Arm, and/or Speed will have his SI inflated relative to other players. Catcher: Morales' arm is really to low for catcher. As a LL6 team, I see no point in keeping an older guy with minimal upside. Rose has a lot of SI wasted in Range. Might be better in CF/RF. His AAA time might have been cut a little short, but he is really too old to put back down. Not sure how much of a future he has with that BC. Pacheco is probably the best of these three. The issue with platooning Pacheco is that there are generally a lot more righty pitchers. So he won't get the innings he needs to develop. I would actually consider just playing him full time to try and develop him to his potential. Apodaca is probably not going to pan out since he is so far behind in development. Having spent over a year on FA didn't do him any favors... I'd keep my eyes open for other strong armed prospects you might want to grow into catchers. First Base: Almeida's GB/FB isn't the worst I've seen, but he still isn't a good player. Encarnación is also a pretty bad hitter for a 1B. You need someone with 700+ OPS at a minimum at 1B. These Almeida and Encarnación are not doing the job. I wouldn't stress too much about Lee at 1B. Notice he has a 1.000 FP so far. Fielding isn't as critical for 1B, OF, or Catcher. At least Lee has a reasonable OPS (if still lower than optimal for 1B). I would have made Nakayama an OF, but many people would leave him at 1B. Nice defensive build, but his performance isn't good, and his scouting report doesn't show much promise. Collins doesn't have a great build. Too much fielding for a POT 12 1B. But his performance has been decent. Missing a year on FA hurt a lot, but he is still a decent 1B prospect. At least of the near term. Park looks promising. Nicer to have a lefty at 1B, but I think Park might work out nicely. He is your platoon guy if nothing else. Second Base: I prioritize hitting, so I would be looking to upgrade Cai, but he is a solid defensive piece. At a minimum he can be good defensive replacement in the future if you develop his position experience now. I would put Peña back in AAA for the year. Missing out in AAA entirely is going to kill him. He has good potential as a hitter, and I wouldn't be afraid to put him in LF either. Estalella really has a 3B build, but you have a lot of those guys... His Range is a bit low for 2B, and you don't really need Arm at 2B. Always nice to have lefties, but I would just look for any good 2B right now. Cai can be the backup. Short Stop: Herrmann probably won't gain much, but he could go up a few more SI. Looks like a nice stop gap for SS. Definitely has the right defensive build. Olivera missed AAA and is already 27. His Range is a little on the low side for a SS. He is a passable guy, but I don't think he will ever reach his potential, so I wouldn't stress too much about getting him innings. Kameāloha's optimal position is probably 3B... Like most of your minors, LOL. SS is the hardest position to fill. If you can find young guy with a defensive build like Herrmann who is not underdeveloped, I would grab him regardless of his hitting ability. Third Base: McCall doesn't have a good 3B build as you pointed out. His offensive performance has picked up recently. Echevarría has a good defensive build (almost too good), but obviously isn't much at the plate. Really should be hitting much better at LL6, I might give him another shot. Aguilera looks promising. Don't promote him this year though. He needs more time in AAA. I'd leave him in AAA until after the all-star break NEXT year. Estalella should probably also by a 3B. Kameāloha also has more of a 3B build. Apodaca is probably not going to pan out. You are pretty deep here in the minors. You just need to struggle through another 1.5 seasons before Aguilera is ready. I think they guys you have will be sufficient. I'd probably give Echevarría another shot because he might be a decent hitter, and he will last until you are ready for Aguilera to step in. Outfield: Oota has too much fielding for an CF. His lowercase "of" might actually hurt a bit in CF (less of a concern at the corners). Reasonable guy for now, but I'd still keep my eyes open for an upgrade. Ushida is a horrible hitter. Fielding is a waste in RF, and his Range is a bit on the low side for RF. Great arm, but really he has a 3B build. He is never going to hit good enough for RF. I'd keep my eyes open for a replacement. McCollum has been horrid so far, but his build is decent. He could turn out to be a productive guy. Nakayama is definitely a better fit at OF. Not horrible to leave him down, but if you don't mind sacrificing some defense in the short term, he will develop quicker if he is playing every day in the majors. He could even play CF. Although honestly he doesn't look great offensively... Aguilera has a pretty good RF build. Strikes out a lot, but could be a decent player. Turner should make a really nice LF in the future. DH: For me this is generally just the best batter who is still sitting on the bench when I finish the lineup (or the guy he is a defensive improvement over). For you, getting ABs and position experience for younger guys should be a priority. So maybe the best old guy as DH. Pitching: You should be able to find some decent POT 12s. I'd just keep looking as you have time. You have some pretty good guys in your minors already. I wouldn't pull guys up unless they are ready. Otherwise they will stunt. You could take some chances with high risk/reward guys on FA (25/26). Nakayama can be promoted and put into OF to receive OF training. If you decide to keep him. Collins and Aguilera need more time in AAA. Callahan might be ready after the all-star break.

#46678	03/13/2017 8:03:23 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9600 Haverhill Halflings III.1	BTW, Kameāloha has really good potential, so I would prioritize getting him into the right position. That might mean Estalella eventually becomes irrelevant in the future. But that is ok. Not every player needs to succeed. In the near term, you can play them both at 3B in the minors without any concern about playing time. Minors are distributed randomly for games, so they don't really take away time from each other. The 6 year gap between Kameāloha and Aguilera is a nice healthy pipeline.

#46691	03/14/2017 7:30:14 am
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5201 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I think you have made some nice additions, and your analysis solid. Good luck with Barr. He was very good for Waterloo. Never really got his chance to shine in a deep bullpen. Hopefully will stabalize your pen for a modest salary. I really like Pena. Nothing wrong with Rock777's advice to send him down, but I think you could leave him up. He's got a lot of minor league time in, just not at the optimal level. Makes him atypical. He needs 3-4 points in each skill (maybe a little more in power) - plausible he can gain that through experience. Its fair to view him as a DH, but his defensive skillset actually plays at 1B. If you do send him down, I would train him at that position. If you keep him up, I would be tempted to platoon him at 1B. We've been told players train most effectively at their recommended level. Apodeca would probably train better in rookie ball. Ushida seems like a trap player. His 113 SI couldn't be distributed much worse. If you are spending 50+ hours scouring waivers, your efficiency is very low. If possible, make a check of free agents in the morning and a sweep of waivers after games in the evening. Savvy use of the filters helps a lot. Good luck!

#46695	03/14/2017 8:12:25 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9600 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My main concern with Peña is that he is likely to stunt. Meaning he wont reach his potential regardless of experience, but with a 26 year old its always a trade-off for production anyhow. Leave him down for another year and he is giving you less benefit. He could certainly play 1B, although optimally you want a lefty playing 1B most of the time. I could certainly see him being a 1B/LF/DH. Which would give you plenty of opportunities to get him in the lineup. Even if he doesn't reach his potential, I think Peña can be a useful player.

#46698	03/14/2017 8:52:58 am
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5201 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	That's fair. 12 SI more would put him at 95. That doesn't seem a big ask given he has no experience. If you send him down (for a 8th* minor league season!) you may squeeze out a couple more SI than if you keep him up. How much better will those couple SI make him? At the cost of a season of his already short playing career? May might be a keyword there. It took him 2* seasons to get his last skill up in hitting. There may not be much to gain in AAA. Another consideration is that the team is rebuilding this season. If the rebuild goes well the team may be competitive next season. A sophomore Pena should be able to help the team more in 2032 than a rookie Pena. Not trying to be argumentative. Think both pathways are viable and have their pros and cons. * - edit, overlooked he sat in limbo a season. My point of view was more convincing with 9 & 3. Updated Tuesday, March 14 2017 @ 11:10:01 am PDT

#46701	03/14/2017 9:23:12 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Put they guy at rookie when I was new I rated everyone on SI and nothing else so I had guys in wrong levels a lot.

#46790	03/15/2017 12:29:17 pm
Gambler75 Joined: 02/23/2017 Posts: 80 Brockton Bombers V.15	Thanks for all the help ... I'm scouring the FAs, but not finding much helpful. My minors feels like a real mess now looking at it. Basically, I've got 3 thirds (Kamealoha, Aguilera, and Estalella), and 4 DH/1B types (Collins, Pena, Park and Turner all seem like they'd be terrible anywhere in the field) in the minors. Picked up Reyna as a possible CF ... looks like a better version of Nakayama to me. It's telling me to promote him ofc, but I assume he could use at least a full season at AAA. Would sliding to Kamealoha to 2B training be a mistake? Seems in my games like everyone is SO lefty stacked, that my 2B is getting more action than SS. That would at least let me make use of whoever pans out better of Aguilera / Estalella at 3B. Not sure if Luna will pan out at SS, but he was the only one with defense skills that looked appropriate. Apodaca is more of a longshot C prospect, would've prefered someone with more power + less range, but the scrapheap that is the FA market ... that was the best I could find. On the pitching side ... I'm feeling like Anaya is a likely candidate for getting chopped. 11pot & bad control scouting, seems like he's the worst of the bunch I signed. Potential cuts remaining: P Daniels - Pot10 + gets lit up like a Xmas tree. 1B Encarnacion - Need a backup 1B first, in case JW Lee gets hurt. P Anaya - reasons above. P.S. Pena was seeing very few ABs as the DH vs lefty pitching only, and as backup 2B ... so I sent him back to AAA. I thought about making him full time DH ... but that would eliminate the ONE decent power bat so far in my lineup (McCall). Updated Wednesday, March 15 2017 @ 12:49:49 pm PDT

#46807	03/15/2017 4:55:55 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9600 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Collins and Park will both be decent 1B/DH. Personally, I would play Peña in LF. Turner is a lot younger than those guys, so he is really the next generation. Don't count him against the other guys. Turner would be good as a 1B/LF/DH. So three guys for 3 position now, and one guy who can fill any of those 3 positions in the future. That looks healthy to me. It always tells you to promote 25 year olds. Yeah, I would leave Reyna in AAA this year. Looks like a good CF option. A bit underdeveloped, but his minor league performance has been great. Lots of HRs! Kameāloha's range is a little low for 2B. Its really hard to determine the effect of one individuals range on your team since it is calculated as an aggregate. Also, no one (but Solana Steve) actually knows what the weighting is for 2B. It is a contested topic in real world baseball even. Personally I would leave Kameāloha at 3B. Estalella looks like a JAG. I don't think I would base placement on him. If you keep looking, you will find another 2B (maybe the draft even). Aguilera will be approaching retirement by the time Kameāloha is ready, so I wouldn't consider those two an overlap. You could push Estalella to RF or C. He isn't perfect, but he could work at one of those positions. He is also probably fine as a backup 23/3B. You do need some utility guys in case of injuries. Also a bit early to tell, but if Kameāloha ends up hitting righties a lot better than lefties, then you might want Estalella as a platoon. I can just tell from experience that Apodaca isn't going to develop very well. He is too far behind. Nothing wrong with keeping him around for now. Just letting you know. All those guys look very cutable to me. McCall is doing well so far this year, but historically he hasn't been good. He has improved skill-wise, so maybe he turned a corner. Obviously I don't think there is any thing wrong with leaving Peña down in AAA one more year, but if you do have him on the major squad, I'd try to make him an everyday guy. He might not be a huge downgrade from McCall...

#46809	03/15/2017 5:01:35 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9600 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Its great to get lefties into the lineup against RHPs. But it is a bit of a luxury. Start off by just getting the best guys you can. Building the team is a continual uphill climb. Don't stress about promoting in season 1, you are building a base from which to launch your campaign (of bombs). There is a small defensive bonus at 1B for having a lefty, but it isn't that major. Some guys hit both sides equally well.