Scouting - Offline Franchise

[wolfpack23]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

I don't have scouting completely figured out. For example what is the importance of the region for a scout. Do they get faster results if they scout within their own region?

I think that they are able to more accurately scout the players in the regions they specialize in.

[japsubie]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

The Rule 5 draft is in place to give minor league players and opportunity to get picked by another club if they aren't on the 40 man roster after 5 seasons in the original clubs system. However, if a player is picked by another club in the Rule 5 draft that player must remain on that teams 25 man MLB roster for the entire season or else the original team can demand the player back. However, once that player has remained on the 25 man roster for the entire season they can then be optioned back to the minor leagues.

Compensation picks are a result of losing free agents during the off-season. There are different tiered free agents and a club will get a certain pick based on that tier.

ahhh interesting ok cool!! that all definitely makes sense thank you for clarifying. as far as "losing free agents" goes, what exactly do you mean? i know im really asking you to break it down here lol do you just mean if they signed a free agent, and then come off season they retire early on their contract or something?

[japsubie]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

I don't have scouting completely figured out. For example what is the importance of the region for a scout. Do they get faster results if they scout within their own region?

I start with two scouts discovering, two scouting. When I have an adequate number of players discovered I put them all to work scouting. For pitchers it is important to scout for both left and right handed pitchers and for pitching I scout makeup.

For position players it depends on position and team philosophy.

One thing I've noticed is a few players have higher attributes than potential. I look for those guys and scout them because sometimes their potential increases after they are scouted and they turn out to be hidden gems.

hmm i did not know their potential could change! also, good question about the regions, id like to know that as well. ive always kept my scouts to their specific regions in case it does make a difference.

[wolfpack23]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

ahhh interesting ok cool!! that all definitely makes sense thank you for clarifying. as far as "losing free agents" goes, what exactly do you mean? i know im really asking you to break it down here lol do you just mean if they signed a free agent, and then come off season they retire early on their contract or something?

So what I mean "by losing a free agent" is that he plays the last year of his contract for you but in the off-season he decides to sign with another team. MLB compensates the team that lost the player with a draft pick. It is important to note though that not every free agent nets his previous team a draft pick. Only players that have been significant contributors to their old team will result in a pick ranging from rounds 1-3. The supplemental rounds occur after the end of each round.

[ShaBoomer]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

So what I mean "by losing a free agent" is that he plays the last year of his contract for you but in the off-season he decides to sign with another team. MLB compensates the team that lost the player with a draft pick. It is important to note though that not every free agent nets his previous team a draft pick. Only players that have been significant contributors to their old team will result in a pick ranging from rounds 1-3. The supplemental rounds occur after the end of each round.

Just to clarify, the rules have changed as of the 2013 season as far as picks and compensation.

There are no longer Type A and Type B free agents, and technically any free agent can be offered a Qualifying Offer (QO) from their team. They don't have to be an elite player or even have contributed greatly to their team.

(Josh Johnson is a prime example of this, and the Blue Jays had the choice to offer him a $14.1mm QO at the end of the 2013 season. Of course, the Jays chose the smart path and let him walk.)

If a player rejects the QO, thus electing FA, and signs with another team, that team loses their highest round pick. The pick does not go to the former team. Instead, the former team receives a compensation pick, slotted at the end of Round 1 (or at the end of the round in which the pick was lost). The initial slot disappears, and the draft order simply condenses (so all teams below will move up one slot).

Because the first 10 slots are protected (and this can actually extend down further based on other compensation picks, for instance, from not signing your 1st round pick from the year before), these picks cannot be lost. Instead, that team surrenders it's next top pick.

Compensation picks are slotted based on the reverse win/loss records from the previous season. For every qualified FA a team signs, they must forfeit their highest unprotected draft pick.


I know some of this info is a repeat of what WolfPack said, but I just wanted to clarify that any qualified free agent can be offered a qualifying offer. To be a qualified free agent all you have to do is play for the same organization (at either the minor or major league level) for the entire season.

There are also some "grey-area" rules that allow this entire QFA and QO system to be subverted. However, no respectable player or agent would likely ever try it.

Also, any player who waits to sign until after the June draft (the official date is June 15) will not require a draft pick to be forfeited.

[wolfpack23]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

Just to clarify, the rules have changed as of the 2013 season as far as picks and compensation.

There are no longer Type A and Type B free agents, and technically any free agent can be offered a Qualifying Offer (QO) from their team. They don't have to be an elite player or even have contributed greatly to their team.

(Josh Johnson is a prime example of this, and the Blue Jays had the choice to offer him a $14.1mm QO at the end of the 2013 season. Of course, the Jays chose the smart path and let him walk.)

If a player rejects the QO, thus electing FA, and signs with another team, that team loses their highest round pick. The pick does not go to the former team. Instead, the former team receives a compensation pick, slotted at the end of Round 1 (or at the end of the round in which the pick was lost). The initial slot disappears, and the draft order simply condenses (so all teams below will move up one slot).

Because the first 10 slots are protected (and this can actually extend down further based on other compensation picks, for instance, from not signing your 1st round pick from the year before), these picks cannot be lost. Instead, that team surrenders it's next top pick.

Compensation picks are slotted based on the reverse win/loss records from the previous season. For every qualified FA a team signs, they must forfeit their highest unprotected draft pick.


I know some of this info is a repeat of what WolfPack said, but I just wanted to clarify that any qualified free agent can be offered a qualifying offer. To be a qualified free agent all you have to do is play for the same organization (at either the minor or major league level) for the entire season.

There are also some "grey-area" rules that allow this entire QFA and QO system to be subverted. However, no respectable player or agent would likely ever try it.

Also, any player who waits to sign until after the June draft (the official date is June 15) will not require a draft pick to be forfeited.

I guess I should have done some research and looked up the compensation guidelines. That's what I get for being lazy though. I know that they got rid of the classifications but I thought they still tiered the players. Hate the qualifying offer though when it comes to players like Kendrys Morales who has kind of been screwed over since no team is going to forfeit a 1st for him. As a result he won't sign with a team until after the draft is over and no draft pick is tied to him. However, the old system wasn't perfect either. I used to cringe when you would see a middle-reliever tied to a first round pick.

Also, this thread has turned into a great back and forth and is going to be a great guideline for those casual fans of the game who are interested in learning more about the behind the scenes stuff in baseball!

[ShaBoomer]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

Morales' other problem is nobody wants to pay $14.1mm for a 30yr old DH with weak legs and ankles.

I think the entire QFA and QO system needs to be overhauled again. I actually like QO's, just not the way they are implemented now.

The objective of the QO is to allow a team to keep an elite player for another year at a cost that may be more manageable compared to the FA market values. Teams spend years and tons of money developing players and building their teams, this gives them one last opportunity to get some revenue back out of them (through merchandise sales, team performance, ticket gates, etc). The compensation pick also allows them to balance part of the lose with a better draft pick, theoretically allowing them to rebuild faster.

I believe one of the main aspects of the QO system is to help speed up rebuilding by restocking a team's farm system with better prospects, making the loss of an elite player have less impact in the long term.

However, I think once a player has been offered a QO, they should not qualify for another one at the end of that season. Most teams offer QO's because they want the draft pick, not necessarily the FA to return.

I think if a team really wants a player to return, and they offer him a QO, they should be required to try and negotiate an extension during the following season. If they don't offer an extension, then the player should be exempt from QFA status.

I have a lot of other ideas about this, but they're all jumbled up in my head and it's too hard to express them without this becoming a 20-page rant.

[wolfpack23]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

Haha no worries. I love having back and forth's about this kind of stuff and soaking in other individuals viewpoints. I look at QO's as being comparable to the franchise tag in football. But let's be honest every system is going to have it's flaws, and yes, Morales is definitely not worth 14 million (unless I get the pre-broken leg version). I think that a lot of people forget how good of a hitter he was with Anaheim before that fateful trip around the bases.

I am a die-hard Oakland Athletics fan and we will find ourselves in a qualifying offer situation this offseason with Jed Lowrie. Extending him a qualifying offer is going to be a no-brainer since he is sure to make more money out in the open market being an offensive minded, switch hitting middle infielder. It's all but a foregone conclusion that he won't be back next season with Addison Russell waiting in the wings so why not get some compensation for the loss.

[newmich]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

What does everyone do region wise? I tend to have a scout for all 4 regions and was wondering if thats how everyone else did that.Aso how do you decide who to scout first? The player with the highest initial pot. Or the player with the better initial ETA?

[Mizzou24]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

I find guys skills that I like as a baseline and I typically try to find the younger guys first. I also scout all regions if u have a guy with good discovery and efficiency he will get thru it fast.. Pitchers take the longest to discover so I usually don't scout all regions I'll do some righties and leftoes


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[cardinalbird5]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

If you draft low overalls (45-60 overall) with high potentials do you guys leave them in class A or put them straight to AA? Does it make a difference? Can calling them up through the minors too fast affect their potential?

[Mizzou24]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

If you draft low overalls (45-60 overall) with high potentials do you guys leave them in class A or put them straight to AA? Does it make a difference? Can calling them up through the minors too fast affect their potential?

Yes it can because if they do bad they will not progress as much and possibly lose potential.. U really have to follow ur reports u get from ur farm manager


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[drhzhenl]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

Have they changed the way defense works?

[RogueHominid]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

I have a couple of questions for the group.

First, what's your cutoff as far as MLB ETA is concerned with scouting players? Do you set a line at, say, 2017, 2020?

Second, when you scout manually, do you consciously try to scout some guys with projected OVR in the high 60s or 70s so you can have some scouted players available in the later rounds, or do you just go by MLB ETA?

I've decided to scout manually this year and am curious about these issues.

[cardinalbird5]

Re: Scouting - Offline Franchise

I scouted a 1b that had projected high potential. However he only had 75 potential, but he was already a 76 overall as an 18 year old! He had contact in the 70's and power in the 50's. I called him to begin the season and he is hitting great for me. I figured that was the smart thing to do since he pretty much already reached his potential and maybe it could increase if he did well. At the very least, I can trade him after a few years if he does not improve and he should have very good stats at that time for a 20 year old. IRL someone would definitely take that trade.

Anyways this is an example of a win/win situation in my books and is one example of potential not meaning every thing. This guy can contribute to my team right away and there is no need to try and build him up in the minors if he already reached his potential.

I have a couple of questions for the group.

First, what's your cutoff as far as MLB ETA is concerned with scouting players? Do you set a line at, say, 2017, 2020?

Second, when you scout manually, do you consciously try to scout some guys with projected OVR in the high 60s or 70s so you can have some scouted players available in the later rounds, or do you just go by MLB ETA?

I've decided to scout manually this year and am curious about these issues.

I do 4-5 years or so, because by that time they will be eligible rule 5 draft. I am not going to risk not calling them up, but I also don't want to be forced to have them on my 40 man roster if they are 50-60 overall still.

I've seen ETA's that say 2028 and that is just insane lol. I don't know who would draft a guy that'd have to spend 10+ years in the minors to develop.