Scouting Question

[tessl]

Re: Scouting Question

100% disagree

You still get in the ballpark. The draft in ANY sports isn't an exact science and it's represented pretty damn well in this game.

Here are some #1 picks of the past 20+ years who didn't do much:

1991 - Brien Taylor LHP - never made it to the MLB
1994 - Paul Wilson RHP - very average pitcher in the MLB
1996 - Kris Benson RHP - 70-75 record...decent career but pretty average
1997 - Matt Anderson RHP - 5.19 Career ERA and injuries killed him arm (threw 100 MPH)
2002 - Bryan Bullington RHP - 1-9 overall record in bigs
2004 - Matt Bush SS - No comment needed
2006 - Luke Hochevar RHP - 5+ ERA and 43-61 record...pretty average
2008 - Tim Beckham SS - hasn't progressed and injuries/drug violations keep him down

I sincerely hope you are in the overwhelmingly LARGE minority with your feelings on this matter

Maybe it is my inability to explain but I have very little confidence people on this forum will be able to comprehend this but I'll try.

There are 40 picks a year plus international signings in MLB. That is a far greater pool than mlbts has to develop players from. In mlbts there are 5 or 6 picks a year and no international signings. If mlbts replicates MLB in the failure rate of prospects there will be an inadequate number of MLB quality players to fill the 700+ needed for 30 MLB teams each with a 25 man roster. MLB teams bring in 50 or more new players a year when international signings are included. They sign an average of 1,200 players from the Dominican annuallyIn the show you get 5 or 6.

You have succeeded as those who wanted to reduce the effectiveness of CPU hitters have done. I posted results http://www.operationsports.com/forum...-per-game.html of a study I did which detailed the decreased effectiveness of CPU hitters. In manage mode every hitter is a CPU hitter.

The sim engine and game engine are different entities. For the 29 CPU teams in a franchise the only time their hitters are handicapped is when they are playing my team. The other 150 or so games a year they are simming and not impacted. Therefore the CPU hitters progress normally while the human hitters with poor hitting stats regress because progression is now based upon performance. Hitting in simmed games is far better than in games played.

For those who control the pitcher they are probably thrilled because the devs handicapped the CPU hitters for them. For those who claim to be manage mode players but in reality are simming most of their games they don't see a problem either. For me, as a person who plays 100% of the games in manage mode simming nothing, with teams scoring 1 or fewer runs 55% of the time and my hitters all performing poorly compared to the CPU teams and therefore regressing, the game is broken as a result.

Sometimes the best thing the devs can do is leave the game alone. mlbts14 is a perfect example of that.

[Jr.]

Re: Scouting Question

Maybe it is my inability to explain but I have very little confidence people on this forum will be able to comprehend this but I'll try.

There are 40 picks a year plus international signings in MLB. That is a far greater pool than mlbts has to develop players from. In mlbts there are 5 or 6 picks a year and no international signings. If mlbts replicates MLB in the failure rate of prospects there will be an inadequate number of MLB quality players to fill the 700+ needed for 30 MLB teams each with a 25 man roster. MLB teams bring in 50 or more new players a year when international signings are included. In the show you get 5 or 6.

You have succeeded as those who wanted to reduce the effectiveness of CPU hitters have done. I posted results [=http://www.operationsports.com/forums/mlb-show/746205-chased-pitches-runs-per-game.html]here[/url]of a study I did which detailed the decreased effectiveness of CPU hitters. In manage mode every hitter is a CPU hitter.

The sim engine and game engine are different entities. For the 29 CPU teams in a franchise the only time their hitters are handicapped is when they are playing my team. The other 150 or so games a year they are simming and not impacted. Therefore the CPU hitters progress normally while the human hitters with poor hitting stats regress because progression is now based upon performance. Hitting in simmed games is far better than in games played.

For those who control the pitcher they are probably thrilled because the devs handicapped the CPU hitters for them. For those who claim to be manage mode players but in reality are simming most of their games they don't see a problem either. For me, as a person who plays 100% of the games in manage mode simming nothing, with teams scoring 1 or fewer runs 55% of the time and my hitters all performing poorly compared to the CPU teams and therefore regressing, the game is broken as a result.

Sometimes the best thing the devs can do is leave the game alone. mlbts14 is a perfect example of that.

Have you tried playing on HOF difficulty? I'm on that for pitching and I'm not seeing that many chased pitches at all.

[tessl]

Re: Scouting Question

Have you tried playing on HOF difficulty? I'm on that for pitching and I'm not seeing that many chased pitches at all.

Difficulty does not make a difference in manage mode.

[Jr.]

Re: Scouting Question

Difficulty does not make a difference in manage mode.

Ah ok. Don't know what to tell you then.

[NDAlum]

Re: Scouting Question

Maybe it is my inability to explain but I have very little confidence people on this forum will be able to comprehend this but I'll try.

There are 40 picks a year plus international signings in MLB. That is a far greater pool than mlbts has to develop players from. In mlbts there are 5 or 6 picks a year and no international signings. If mlbts replicates MLB in the failure rate of prospects there will be an inadequate number of MLB quality players to fill the 700+ needed for 30 MLB teams each with a 25 man roster. MLB teams bring in 50 or more new players a year when international signings are included. They sign an average of 1,200 players from the Dominican annuallyIn the show you get 5 or 6.

You have succeeded as those who wanted to reduce the effectiveness of CPU hitters have done. I posted results http://www.operationsports.com/forum...-per-game.html of a study I did which detailed the decreased effectiveness of CPU hitters. In manage mode every hitter is a CPU hitter.

The sim engine and game engine are different entities. For the 29 CPU teams in a franchise the only time their hitters are handicapped is when they are playing my team. The other 150 or so games a year they are simming and not impacted. Therefore the CPU hitters progress normally while the human hitters with poor hitting stats regress because progression is now based upon performance. Hitting in simmed games is far better than in games played.

For those who control the pitcher they are probably thrilled because the devs handicapped the CPU hitters for them. For those who claim to be manage mode players but in reality are simming most of their games they don't see a problem either. For me, as a person who plays 100% of the games in manage mode simming nothing, with teams scoring 1 or fewer runs 55% of the time and my hitters all performing poorly compared to the CPU teams and therefore regressing, the game is broken as a result.

Sometimes the best thing the devs can do is leave the game alone. mlbts14 is a perfect example of that.

My point in this thread was simple: not every #1 pick is going to be Mike Trout or at the minimum an All-Star. There are a few can't miss guys but for the most part they still have to develop into that great MLB player. It sounded like people want 100% definitive attributes and hard numbers with regards to future ratings. It clearly isn't that way.

I meant nothing more, nothing less.

Yep I really want them to limit the hitters...I'm 25th in ERA at ~4.5 and made sure to be on a level where it's difficult as I have a young pitching staff with the Astros.

Clearly you have an issue with MoM and it's unfortunate it's not working very well for you. Hopefully it gets cleared up

[MLB Bob]

Re: Scouting Question

Maybe it is my inability to explain but I have very little confidence people on this forum will be able to comprehend this but I'll try.

There are 40 picks a year plus international signings in MLB. That is a far greater pool than mlbts has to develop players from. In mlbts there are 5 or 6 picks a year and no international signings. If mlbts replicates MLB in the failure rate of prospects there will be an inadequate number of MLB quality players to fill the 700+ needed for 30 MLB teams each with a 25 man roster. MLB teams bring in 50 or more new players a year when international signings are included. They sign an average of 1,200 players from the Dominican annuallyIn the show you get 5 or 6.

You have succeeded as those who wanted to reduce the effectiveness of CPU hitters have done. I posted results http://www.operationsports.com/forum...-per-game.html of a study I did which detailed the decreased effectiveness of CPU hitters. In manage mode every hitter is a CPU hitter.

The sim engine and game engine are different entities. For the 29 CPU teams in a franchise the only time their hitters are handicapped is when they are playing my team. The other 150 or so games a year they are simming and not impacted. Therefore the CPU hitters progress normally while the human hitters with poor hitting stats regress because progression is now based upon performance. Hitting in simmed games is far better than in games played.

For those who control the pitcher they are probably thrilled because the devs handicapped the CPU hitters for them. For those who claim to be manage mode players but in reality are simming most of their games they don't see a problem either. For me, as a person who plays 100% of the games in manage mode simming nothing, with teams scoring 1 or fewer runs 55% of the time and my hitters all performing poorly compared to the CPU teams and therefore regressing, the game is broken as a result.

Sometimes the best thing the devs can do is leave the game alone. mlbts14 is a perfect example of that.

How many of those thousands of picks make it to AA or AAA? Sure most won't make it to MLB but a lot of drafted players in the rounds past the first 5-7 don't make AA or AAA, which is what this game has for playable leagues. You start off with 90 players. You can add 5-7 through drafting and there's 3 lists of free agent players. It's not going to be perfect but I don't see how you're explanation justifies what is perceived as being wrong with the success rate or caliber or number of draft picks.

[Brandwin]

Re: Scouting Question

I guess I just don't understand, but I can't get scouting down at all. I've simmed multiple seasons just to mess around with it, but always end up with crap.

[StevenSD]

Re: Scouting Question

I guess I just don't understand, but I can't get scouting down at all. I've simmed multiple seasons just to mess around with it, but always end up with crap.

What problems are you having? Are you running out of scouted players towards round 3 or 4? Or just not fully scouting enough players?

[Knight165]

Re: Scouting Question

Dook(and anyone)

The DISCOVERY process is very important.
Find scouts with a high DISCOVERY rating.....in combination with a high rating in either position player or pitcher....and then a specific region. Instruct them to discover players that they are best suited for(so a scout that is 90 pitcher/45 position player-88 discovery/55 efficiency and WEST....you would send to the WEST region to find pitchers)
This scout will be more likely to find more pitchers of better quality than a scout who either had lower discovery.....lower pitcher rating or a scout that had identical pitcher/discovery...but was an international scout.
That's not to say that you can't use a scout for ANY scouting purpose in any region...but that will yield you the best results.

Now....you can either have the scout a region until all players are discovered or until you think you have enough and want to individually scout players.
This is where efficiency will come into play.....A higher efficiency rating will let your scout more quickly fully scout a player.
All scouts will find the actual/potentials of players.....but it will take longer for those with a lower efficiency rating or position player/pitcher rating.
-the actual/potential ratings are not "correct" until fully scouted
-the potential number(which will be potential letter when signed and the potential rating in the editor) won't be "correct" until fully scouted
-the current OVR won't be "correct" until fully scouted
-the individual potential ratings(contact/power/arm ...etc) are not the EXACT number a player will always hit.....once in the system of a team....other factors will play into those ratings. It is not a hard ceiling or floor.

Hope this helps a bit.

I'm sure others might chime in and give their tips on how and what they look for when scouting.

M.K.
Knight165

[SportsFanEvan]

Re: Scouting Question

Thanks for all the information, Knight. Super helpful.

[StevenSD]

Re: Scouting Question

Dook(and anyone)

The DISCOVERY process is very important.
Find scouts with a high DISCOVERY rating.....in combination with a high rating in either position player or pitcher....and then a specific region. Instruct them to discover players that they are best suited for(so a scout that is 90 pitcher/45 position player-88 discovery/55 efficiency and WEST....you would send to the WEST region to find pitchers)
This scout will be more likely to find more pitchers of better quality than a scout who either had lower discovery.....lower pitcher rating or a scout that had identical pitcher/discovery...but was an international scout.
That's not to say that you can't use a scout for ANY scouting purpose in any region...but that will yield you the best results.

Now....you can either have the scout a region until all players are discovered or until you think you have enough and want to individually scout players.
This is where efficiency will come into play.....A higher efficiency rating will let your scout more quickly fully scout a player.
All scouts will find the actual/potentials of players.....but it will take longer for those with a lower efficiency rating or position player/pitcher rating.
-the actual/potential ratings are not "correct" until fully scouted
-the potential number(which will be potential letter when signed and the potential rating in the editor) won't be "correct" until fully scouted
-the current OVR won't be "correct" until fully scouted
-the individual potential ratings(contact/power/arm ...etc) are not the EXACT number a player will always hit.....once in the system of a team....other factors will play into those ratings. It is not a hard ceiling or floor.

Hope this helps a bit.

I'm sure others might chime in and give their tips on how and what they look for when scouting.

M.K.
Knight165

Only tip I'd add to this is that you have to scout frequently. Don't just assume a scout will stay on assignment for more than a few calender days.

Also start scouting right at the beginning of the season, don't sim to the first game and then scout. Take advantage of at least a week and a half of scouting.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: Scouting Question

Just adding my .02

When actually scouting the players you've discovered, I am finding that looking into some of the low POT players might be interesting. Just like how prospects with 99 POT pre-scouting always tend to have POT decreases when scouted, the 50-ish POT guys seem to have increases in POT. Some of them by a lot. I have seen one or two guys go from 55 POT or so to high 80s upon scouting. It seems that if they have a really nice present skill (like 95 VELO) there might be more to them than meets the eye.

[Knight165]

Re: Scouting Question

Just adding my .02

When actually scouting the players you've discovered, I am finding that looking into some of the low POT players might be interesting. Just like how prospects with 99 POT pre-scouting always tend to have POT decreases when scouted, the 50-ish POT guys seem to have increases in POT. Some of them by a lot. I have seen one or two guys go from 55 POT or so to high 80s upon scouting. It seems that if they have a really nice present skill (like 95 VELO) there might be more to them than meets the eye.

Excellent point.
I will often look for a certain attribute that a player is currently high in...like ARM for a catcher....and even though he is only currently a 48 POT....I'll give him a shot. I've found a few "hidden gems" this way.

M.K.
Knight165

[Brandwin]

Re: Scouting Question

Only tip I'd add to this is that you have to scout frequently. Don't just assume a scout will stay on assignment for more than a few calender days.

Also start scouting right at the beginning of the season, don't sim to the first game and then scout. Take advantage of at least a week and a half of scouting.

I didn't realize I could scout before the season. Thanks!

When you say don't assume a scout with stay on his assignment? You are referring to when you go back into scouting and they say the scout has discovered all players in that area or have finished scouting a player?

Just adding my .02


When actually scouting the players you've discovered, I am finding that looking into some of the low POT players might be interesting. Just like how prospects with 99 POT pre-scouting always tend to have POT decreases when scouted, the 50-ish POT guys seem to have increases in POT. Some of them by a lot. I have seen one or two guys go from 55 POT or so to high 80s upon scouting. It seems that if they have a really nice present skill (like 95 VELO) there might be more to them than meets the eye.

So you look at the actual ratings of these lower potential guys and if they are higher than the potential bar IE Actual Contact is 65 but Potential is listed at 52 You scout them even if their starting potential is low because they might be a hidden gem?


This is what I do -


1st month
* Find scouts who are high in discovery and pitcher and or position
* Discover to scouts strength and region until no players left in region

2nd month through draft
* Hire scouts who are high in efficiency and position or pitcher
* Scout player who fits scouts strengths until scouting report is done
* I look at ETA, AGE, POT and actual ratings.
* If I see a guy who actual ratings better than pot, I scout

Once I get to the draft though, I still end up with crappy players. I see when scouting is set to auto, the scouts don't full scout players. It seems they stop at about halfway? So do most of you scout fully or to a 75%, 50?

I am almost to the point where I make a save the day before the draft, sim the draft, check all the draft picks, write them down and redo the draft so I can at least snag someone good. haha

[fatleg3]

Re: Scouting Question

Just adding my .02

When actually scouting the players you've discovered, I am finding that looking into some of the low POT players might be interesting. Just like how prospects with 99 POT pre-scouting always tend to have POT decreases when scouted, the 50-ish POT guys seem to have increases in POT. Some of them by a lot. I have seen one or two guys go from 55 POT or so to high 80s upon scouting. It seems that if they have a really nice present skill (like 95 VELO) there might be more to them than meets the eye.

I do this too. After I have scouted every top prospect I could find, I begin looking through some individual ratings at some of the positions I am weak at. For example, with the Astros I am weak at 3rd base. Once I fully scout all players with an ETA within a year or two I have discovered, I then look through discovered 3rd baseman individual rating. Find ones with average contract then scout them. These can potentially become platoon type players for me. I like contract hitting 3rd baseman and can always work on fielding.

Sent from Plant City, Florida