Learning on the Job - A Houston Astros Franchise (MLB 13)

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Houston Astros (Les Astros de Houston/Los Astros)
No. of Facebook Likes: Over 450,000
No. of Twitter Followers: Almost 100,000
World Series Titles: Still Waiting...

Welcome Message:

Basically, I have been stopping and starting a lot of franchises because I get bored, so I wanted to try posting online to keep myself invested. There are already some really great franchises posted on the forums and I hope to add to the list.
I've been influenced by many creative OS members and plan to use some tables and fonts that others have created. I'll do my best to give credit where credit is due but if I forget to acknowledge someone, just post in this thread and I'll make sure to add them. Enjoy!

The Nitty Gritty

Rosters: OSFM Hybrid V. 2.0
Sliders: TNK's slider set (will be tweaked as I go along)
Plan: Sim through the first few seasons, until the team puts together a winning record, then probably go through the rotation once a month

Rules:

1. Max 2 Trades per season
2. 1 80+ OVR FA signing per season (unlimited number of roster fillers)
3. CPU Must Receive at least 1 85+ OVR player (32 yrs and younger) in exchange for its 'A' potential prospects (25 yrs and under)
4. Any trades for CPU prospects must be with teams that are in playoff contention
5. Player names are irrelevant (CPU trades are on, so I'm not going to worry about how much Headley is worth to the Padres or Kipnis to the Indians -- if the CPU is willing to trade the players then there is no problem)

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Team Record:

2013 Season: 64-98

All-Star Appearances:

2013 Season: Jason Castro - C

Award Winners:

2013 Season: None

1st Round Draft Picks:

2013 Season: Boris Merchant - 1B (75, A, 1st Overall)

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Reserved for pics/team/league leaders/key trades

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Reserved just in case

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Let the slow crawl from the cellar begin!

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2013 Opening Day Depth Chart

2013 DC Resized.jpg
Top Prospects:

M. Appel -SP (21 yrs, 72, A)
J. Singleton - 1B (21 yrs, 69, A)
J. Altuve - 2B (22 yrs, 83, A)
J.D. Martinez - LF (25 yrs, 61, A)
C. Correa - SS (18 yrs, 56, A)
Positional Strengths: 1B, 2B, CF
Positional Weaknesses: Everywhere else

Plan/ETA: Build through the draft for an appearance in the 2017 World Series

2014 Projected Budget: 47MM

[Deuce2223]

Why is Altuve not starting at 2B and listed as a prospect?

Also if you are going to build through the draft and try for a World Series in 2017, why would you not also bring up Singleton to start at 1B.

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Quote: Originally Posted by Deuce2223

Why is Altuve not starting at 2B and listed as a prospect? Also if you are going to build through the draft and try for a World Series in 2017, why would you not also bring up Singleton to start at 1B.

Altuve is listed as a prospect because he is under 25. The prospect list will be less about where players are in the organization and more about how the high potential players are evolving. He isn't on the depth chart because he was injured in ST (update to follow).

I like Singleton's combination of speed, fielding and hitting, so I'm going to let him play at least a season in the minors to continue developing. We aren't going to win this year or next and his stats suggest he'll get overwhelmed at the MLB level. I'll be taking a similar approach with other guys under 25. Until they develop, we'll use stop-gap players.

edit: Thanks for the comment. Interaction with fellow OS members makes doing these franchises far more interesting.