2019 Player Review Thread

[truth72]

Quote: Originally Posted by Coxatron

Posted this in another thread but this seems the better place: I got my Level 50 Diamond choice and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on the best choice there in terms of SP or C. Those are the two easiest places to upgrade my team. Wood/Oswalt/Seaver all looked comparable stat wise but I've seen people say Wood is almost unhittable. Catcher wise between Posey/Carter/Kendall seem similarly close enough. I was leaning between choosing Wood or Kendall specifically. I have Gold Santiago as my C and Newhouser and Buehler as the low end of my rotation. I guess I'm looking for anyone who has experience with any of the cards that can say definitively if they would recommend one over another. I know it's kind of open ended but just looking for any kind of feedback.

I've got Oswald and Posey. Oswald is a really solid pitcher, I know when he's on the hill I'm going to have a good game.

Posey is fine. He hits 6th in my lineup and is what he is. He's not going to be a world beater for you, but he has enough offense that he can do some damage and enough defense that he makes the plays he should.

I just got to 75 and picked Matt Kemp. I looked at the stats between he and Ichiro and I was drawn to the power of Kemp. Contact is good, speed is good and defense is good (he's also a center fielder). I made this decision beside I'm pretty sure I'm going to take Gwynn as my signature player and Ichiro is just a weaker version of Gwynn.

[papadell]

I sat on my 75 pack for a few days and ultimately went with Kershaw. I know everyone uses him so the meta is probably used to hitting him but then I just need to execute a good gameplan pitching wise. I can't pitch worth a damn with Buehler and I feel like Ryan would be a similar experience in terms of trying to locate and harness his stuff. But I also gravitate more towards windups that are smooth and I can see myself already getting irritated with Kershaw.

Been playing Ranked and I'm really struggling to hit with Posey and the new Griffey. There's something about Jr's stance that makes it hard for me to swing with. I don't know why but I don't feel like I can control the zone very well. He was never intended to be my forever LF but I'm disappointed in how I've hit with him so far. Posey just doesn't square anything up and it doesn't feel like it matters what I do. They're both at the bottom of my lineup. I've actually been considering selling Posey and just putting Santiago back in or even the Realmuto I just pulled.

I'm absolutely raking with Donaldson now. I've cooled with Story but he and JD are probably my best two hitters and I enjoy using them. If I keep hitting with JD like this he might be a permanent fixture until/unless there's an SS Chipper added or at least a better version than the 2008 one.

[truth72]

Awhile back I switched to the 'strike zone' camera view. It takes the view of the batter pretty much out of the equation. I had the same issues you did with specific stances etc, this really helps with that.

JD is an absolute beast, I think he'll probably end up going back up to diamond at somepoint throughout this year. His defense has recovered and hopefully will get an upgrade (his hitting stats are already there). I'm anticipating getting the Miguel Cabrera (2011 Tigers card) out of the 2nd inning program, so Donaldson will likely move to first base for me.

Posey isn't going to set the world on fire for you. I'm hitting around 260 with him, he's chipped in a few homeruns. He does hit lefties quite well. For me, he's a solid option at a position that doesn't have a lot of them. I've run into tons of teams that are using Santiago, but I don't think I've given up a hit to him. You have to do what works for you, just don't put yourself in a situation that you're regretting in a few weeks because you wanted to sell him for 14k. He's not Trout or someone that you're going to be able to build a whole team out of with the stubs you got.

[truth72]

I pulled Andre Dawson awhile back and I've been struggling with him, big time.

I'm not sure if its just that people pitch him harder, or what it is. But I seem to be in between on EVERYTHING. I'm hitting around 200 with him (his stats are ridiculous) and I've only hit 4 home runs. I don't even think I've hit a homerun to CF or LF, I think I've been late or just late and hit all four to the opposite field. I wish he was selling for more, because I'm about done with him.

Defense and arm are stellar, however.

[papadell]

Quote: Originally Posted by truth72

Awhile back I switched to the 'strike zone' camera view. It takes the view of the batter pretty much out of the equation. I had the same issues you did with specific stances etc, this really helps with that. JD is an absolute beast, I think he'll probably end up going back up to diamond at somepoint throughout this year. His defense has recovered and hopefully will get an upgrade (his hitting stats are already there). I'm anticipating getting the Miguel Cabrera (2011 Tigers card) out of the 2nd inning program, so Donaldson will likely move to first base for me. Posey isn't going to set the world on fire for you. I'm hitting around 260 with him, he's chipped in a few homeruns. He does hit lefties quite well. For me, he's a solid option at a position that doesn't have a lot of them. I've run into tons of teams that are using Santiago, but I don't think I've given up a hit to him. You have to do what works for you, just don't put yourself in a situation that you're regretting in a few weeks because you wanted to sell him for 14k. He's not Trout or someone that you're going to be able to build a whole team out of with the stubs you got.

I've tried strike zone hitting but I just can't do it. I'm sure if I just kept grinding I would get used to it but I didn't feel like I was getting a good view of the ball. I faced Verlander today using it and I struck out like 15 times because I couldn't pick up his slider. My opponent just kept burying sliders and I couldn't lay off because he mixed in enough fastballs at the knees that I could not tell the difference. I know Verlander is a beast but I know I can do better than that.

Primarily I've been using The Show 15 with pretty good results. After really struggling to hit this morning I went into BP and messed with custom cameras and I think I found something I like for now. It's The Show 16 but slightly tilted to give me a better look out of the hand and I definitely feel like I was able to see the ball better. Gonna roll with this for a while and see how I like it.

The Posey situation is weird for me. Like stat wise he's not THAT much better than Santiago offensively he just has more pop. I got on base with Santiago at a decent clip but that was mostly Conquest so who knows how he would play online. I'm not gonna snap sell Posey and I didn't lock him in just in case I do want to make a change. I would swap him out for a while and see how I hit with Santiago before selling.

And I think I decided I'm gonna pony up to finish the Yankees collection. I pulled Judge early and I've been doing exchanges for Gold packs and I pulled every single Gold Yankee except Paxton and Severino. I bought Paxton in case he spikes this weekend even though I don't see that happening. Worst case I don't think I end up losing too much. Severino I have a buy-order with the rest of my stubs and if I'm able to get him at that price awesome. If not I'll end up just getting him at market value but leaves only Chapman and Stanton. Gonna wait and see what happens Friday before making any purchases though and see if I can get them cheaper.

Chapman would potentially bump Alvarado although he's done well enough. Honestly I really like my pen and not sure who I would even bump. Would seem a waste to buy Chapman and not use him. Stanton probably goes to the bench as a power bat although I would consider bumping Griffey for him.

Really I just want that Robinson Cano card. I love hitting with the LS card and the AS version is better in every way. I bumped Albies for Cano and immediately starting hitting with him again so I think this is the plan. This works for my team better than just buying Freeman to finish the Braves. I've been scared off from Spahn because of the windup and I have Bellinger already who should get a healthy bump.

[truth72]

I think that's the biggest thing, being willing to grind with something until it works. I still struggle a bit with pitchers that have a good change up. But I also hunt lowball and look off speed unless I know of a pattern.

The Cano card would certainly play, a left handed power bat at second base would certainly open up a number of possibilities. The collection I'm closest to is the Rockies one.. only missing Arenado.. LOL.

Bellinger is going to go Diamond, maybe not this update (POTM card) but it will happen on the 17th at the latest!

[papadell]

Quote: Originally Posted by truth72

I think that's the biggest thing, being willing to grind with something until it works. I still struggle a bit with pitchers that have a good change up. But I also hunt lowball and look off speed unless I know of a pattern. The Cano card would certainly play, a left handed power bat at second base would certainly open up a number of possibilities. The collection I'm closest to is the Rockies one.. only missing Arenado.. LOL. Bellinger is going to go Diamond, maybe not this update (POTM card) but it will happen on the 17th at the latest!

I might be trying to translate my real world baseball skills too much haha. I was a really good hitter and pitcher so sequencing is something I tend to do well and pickup on. So as long as I'm picking the ball up in game I can at least stay on the ball and work walks. When I switched to strikezone I couldn't see ANYTHING and it was embarrassing haha. It takes me an inning or two to really time out the pitcher when I'm seeing the ball. This new camera feels really good so I'm hoping this will help push me forward as I keep playing.

I've never played The Show online before and this is the first I've really played in 10 years. Started 6-0 in Ranked before losing the next 2 and currently sitting at 10-4. Really just looking to keep grinding and hone my skills. I dig my team for the most part so I'm really pushing into it.

[truth72]

Yeah, baseball knowledge will certainly help you. A lot of players have patterns they aren't even aware of. I played a guy last night who was literally throwing breaking ball, breaking ball, high fastball, everytime. I picked up on it in the second or third and was all over him.

Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason to anything. I throw high breaking balls every once in awhile, because its sets up a high out of the zone fastball later (they seem to think the fastball is going to drop into the zone). But that something you would never do in real baseball.

Online is a mixed bag, the biggest piece of advice I can give you is don't be afraid to walk someone. I'm going to say 75% of the people who play this game are trying to hit, which means they're swinging at borderline pitches all the time. I'll attempt to aim a little off the black, if it leaks back then it's not leaking back over the middle, if that makes sense. And most of the time I'll get them to swing. Mistakes REALLY get punished in this game, because a number of people play with directional hitting, so they're squaring up anything in the middle.