MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

[philliesfan136]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

Had some wild stuff go on in a separate M's franchise. Seager is a beast, always seems to hit a homer when I'm playing. Lee Dae-Ho had his share of multi-jack games too. One of the memorable moments was a 16-inning game that I played until the 12th or so, then let the AI finish up. We lost by one to Toronto iirc.

By the end, we won the division at 88-75. We had to square off with the Yankees in the wild-card game, which was also crazy. Felix had an uncharacteristically bad start, loading the bases after allowing 2 runs. It turned out to be a 5-0 deficit by the bottom of the first. Seager and Dae-Ho brought it back with consecutive homers, later followed by Dickerson and Zunino to make it 4-5. We took a two-run lead only for Felix to allow a 2-R bomb to McCann. Lost out, 9-7, but I was happy with how it ended up.

The main additions were Blackmon and Dickerson from COL, plus Brett Anderson and Hellickson to the pitching staff. Felix was awarded the Cy Young for an 18-6 record, 2.82 ERA, and 193 strikeouts. The offseason was interesting because Zunino and Blackmon left without my knowledge. I made a desperation manuever to get a catcher, trading Robbie Cano + Hellickson + Andrew Miller for Lucroy + Braun + Aaron Judge. Definitely unrealistic but the Brewers wanted a 2B and it cleared some salary on my side.

And then today I'm playing the O's in the third series with Iwakuma struggling. But a time of solidarity came when I was down 6-1 and Machado was about to hit a 3-run blast.. it goes to the no-doubter camera shot and he's showing off, only for it to fly foul. He promptly proceeds to K on a curveball from Elias.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's fun getting fully into a franchise and enjoying your team now and then, because I usually find myself simming and doing more of the management aspect.

[Jm0ney2001]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

56-63 with my Twins playing all 162. I'm really losing interest in finishing. I'm up to all star+ batting and really struggling on the dynamic difficulty.

[Gronk4M13]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

I'm giving thirty team control a try for my first time ever. It's a lot of work but I like being able to keep the rosters accurate. I'll be playing as the Mets, and I'll be keeping track of the franchise in my blog section on his forum.

I can't wait to call up Thor, Matz and to trade for Cespedes, Johnson and Uribe on addition to Clippard.

[HozAndMoose]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

<table><td bgcolor=#0B2351>End of May - 2016</td></table>

May was a struggle. 12-16 during the month to bring us to 27-25. Half a game back of Chicago for the division. Tied with 2 other teams for the 2nd Wild Card.

Offense was pretty much the same. We are 1st in AVG at .271, 2nd in Runs with 236, 3rd in Doubles with 103, Tied for 2nd in Triples with 18. Tied for 8th in Stolen Bases with 36, Tied for 10th in Walks with 171, 7th in Strikeouts with 377 and 3rd in OBP at .334.

Gerardo Parra had him self a damn good month. Came into the May hitting .261. He now enters June hitting .352/.408/.531 with 4 HR and 25 RBI. He hit .431/.490/.642 in 95 At Bats with 6 Doubles, 4 Triples, 2 HR and 17 RBI. If you take out the first 3 games of the month he hit .469/.521/.711. Wow. Probably the best month i have seen from someone in the game before.

Starting to get a few more HR. Still only 23rd in the league with 39. Braun leads the team with 8. Gomez and Davis both have 5. Braun leads in RBI, Luis Sardinas has 16 doubles, Jean Segura has 12 SB and he is hitting .303. Adam Lind is hitting .296/.356/.392. Only has 3 HR so far after having 20 last year. Khris Davis broke his wrist and is out for 1-2 more months. Not really that bad since he is hitting .238 right now.

The reason for the losing record this month is all on the Pitching. Gave up over 5 runs per game this month. Currently 26th in the league with a 4.16 ERA. We are last in Hits Allowed and 22nd in Walks Allowed.

Matt Garza is prety much the only thing good in the rotation. He is 3-3 with a 3.15 ERA with a 57/17 strikeout to walk ratio. This month he was 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 43.1 IP with 36 K's and 7 walks. His last 5 starts he has a 1.69 ERA in 37.1 IP.

Jimmy Nelson struggled and his ERA is now 4.08. Josh Johnson has not worked out so far with a 5.65 ERA. Fiers is close to being optioned with a 6.14 ERA. And Perlalta was sent to the pen with a 5.79 ERA. Taylor Jungman took over his spot and is currently 2-0 with a 2.72 ERA. His only start in May he went 7 innings and gave up 3 runs.

Bullpen is better but has some terrible pieces in it. Corey Knebel has 15 saves with a 1.80 ERA. He hasnt blown a save since opening day. Will Smith has a 1.37 ERA in 26.1 IP with 32 K's and 8 walks. K-rod has bounced back and has a 2.25 ERA in 28 IP. He has 40 strikeouts to 8 walks. Everyone else has an ERA above 3.6. With Jeremy Jeffress and Michael Kirman being way over 5. Both of them are being sent to AAA.

In the Minors.

SP Garret Hill our 1st round pick in 2015 was moved up to AAA after an injury and damn did he show off. 9 IP, 8 K's, 2 walks and got a no hitter at just 18 years old. SP Jorge Lopez continues to keep hi ERA low despite his high WHIP. He is 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 55 IP. 63 Strikeouts, 32 Walks and a 1.58 WHIP. Those K's sure seems to come at the right time. Brent Suter is 6-3 with a 3.11 ERA. He would be the call up if anyone gets sent down. RP Brandon Kinztler (2.81 ERA, 11 Saves) and Mike Strong (2.87 ERA) are being called up to replace Jeffress and Kirkman.

Not a lot of offense down in AAA right now. Matt Clark was called up to replace Khris Davis. He was only hitting .247 but his power off the bench is useful with his 12 HR. IF Donnie Murphy is hitting .281 in 57 at bats. Of Kyle Wren is hitting .271 in 166 at bats with 12 SB.

Jackson Yates (created player) in AA is hitting .298 with 3 HR, 19 RBI and 13 SB. Thats about it on offense down there. C Juan Centeno is hitting .369/.418/.476 in 84 at bats but is the back up catcher and DH.

SP Devin Williams is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 43.1 IP. In the pen Tim Dillard has a 2.75 ERA in 19.2 IP, John Ely has a 2.23 ERA in 44.1 IP and Ariel Pena has a 1.47 ERA in 30.2 IP.

Around the League

Angels have the best record in the AL at 25-19. Nationals best in the NL at 34-19. White Sox worst in AL at 16-35, Braves worst in NL at 19-34.

Buster Posey (.354) and Michael Branley (.363) lead in AVG, Paul Goldscmidt (16) and Miguel Cabrera (16) lead in HR, Giancarlo Stanton (49) and Cabrera (47) lead in RBI, Kris Bryant (1.074) and Cabrera (1.106) lead in OPS.

Jordan Zimmerman (1.50 and Andrew Haney (1.72) lead in ERA, Zach Wheeler (81) and Yu Darvish (96) lead in Strikeouts, Madison Bumgarner (85.1) and Tyler Skaggs (81.2) lead in Innings Pitched, Clayton Kershaw (0.85) and Zach McAllister (1.00) lead in WHIP, Steve Cishek (18) and Joakim Soria (17) lead in Saves.

2016 Draft

1st round - 22 year old LF Pete Asoulin. 72 OVR / 82 POT. Good switch hitter with power. Below AVG D and speed. Would make a great DH but should play LF good enough. Ready now but will get some time in the minors.

2nd Round - 21 year old SP Adrian Corona, 52 OVR / 69-79 or 84 POT. Pretty far away right now. Good Velocity and Break is about all he has right now.

3rd Round - 21 year old SP Jermi Hinckley, 60 OVR / 68-78 or 83 POT. A lot Closer than Corona. Could be up in a few years if all goes well. Good break on his pitches. Doesnt strike a lot of guys out though.

4th round - 20 year old SP Jackie Herrera, 52 OVR / 67-77 or 82 POT. About the same as Corona. Both big guys. Both a long way from helping the team. Has good velocity and can eat a lot of innings. But will walk half the lineup in the process.

5th round - 20 year old SP Felipe Carvajal, 48 OVR / 67-77 or 82 POT. Worst of the starters. Gonna be hard for him to reach his potential. Probably a career minor league guy.

6th round - 21 Year old RP Steven Overton, 54 OVR /67-77 or 79 POT. Not much to say about him. Pretty even stats across the board, Low to mid 40's. Could be good by 25.

7th round - 21 year old RP Cole Crespo, 43 OVR / 46-56 or 58 POT. Bum. Not gonna sign him.

[SickDL]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

Made the wildcard round in the last day of the season as the orioles. Going against the redsocks. Am up 4-0 in the 5th then I had to leave. Can't wait to continue playing hate it when that happens

[YankeeVic]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

I've been playing "Season" since I bought the game. I thought I'd get bored playing franchise due to the number of games & innings but after reading the posts you guys put up, I'm diving into franchise.

Completing a franchise season in its entirety is almost a challenge.

[KBLover]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

Matt Baldwin's horrible season just got worse. He broke his hand while getting caught stealing after getting a terrible jump and running nothing like a guy with Billy Hamilton-type speed.

Perhaps this injury is the best thing for him. His batting average fell below the Mendoza line after the game before where he took another 0-for (0-for-3 with a couple walks).

"From bad to worse. This is more like a sophomore epic fail - not just a "slump", " Baldwin commented.

Eric Young, Jr. will get the nod to start with Aoki likely to see time, too. The Marlins are expected to be in the market for at least another depth option in CF, perhaps trading from their plethora of pitching prospects.

Marcell Ozuna will probably be the one to fill the gap in the meantime, but he is by no means a true center fielder.

The Marlins lost 5-2 to the Yankees in the game. They stand at 39-27 with a 2 1/2 game lead over the Nationals.

--------------------------------------------------------

The injuries keep coming, and the Marlins might be precariously thin on the infield as well after Colin Moran fractured his wrist trying to check his swing in the Marlins' 5-3 win over the Yankees in the second of two.

There's few ready options for the team at 3B, defensively speaking. David Sohn, a potentially interesting hitter, has a third baseman's arm, but is raw otherwise at the hot corner. Other infielders don't have the arm to even consider it, even if they do have the reactions and footwork.

That has the Marlins reaching down to AA-Jacksonville for Freddie Foss, often asked about by other teams in trade talks, to come to the majors to try to take over 3B.

Foss is not likely to be much at the plate, especially vs RHP. Hechavarria will probably get looks at 3B as well, not that he's much better at the plate.

[Jm0ney2001]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

Found out I'm a much better player without quick counts. Small sample size but two wins in a row since turning them off. It makes sense bc quick counts can screw you a lot as batter and pitcher. Without them it's more of your talent as a gamer coming through imo. I can work the count and get way more pitches to swing at. I'll probably finish my last 40 games this way. 57-63 right now with the twins.

[redsox4evur]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

Alright playing as the Dodgers. Started off playing every game but then decided to sim until the ASB. So right now I am right after the break. We are sitting pretty at 64-26. Most of our team has been dominant. Kershaw is having an MVP type season. 10-0, 1.70 ERA, 148 Ks with a WHIP of .90. Greinke has been great as well, 10-2, 3.58 ERA, 135 Ks with a WHIP of 1.13. Puig is performing to standards with .310 AVG, 10 HRs, 50 RBIs, OPS of .883. The real surprise so far this season has been the real surprise this year. He is tearing the cover off the ball, with an AVG of .351, OPS of .933 with 20 steals. I think I am going to sell high on him.

[LowerWolf]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

My Braves enter the All-Star break on a nine-game winning streak. We scored 30 runs in a four-game sweep of Colorado without hitting a single homer.

Eric Young, Freeman and Kimbrel are our All-Stars. Teheran (10-3, 2.67 ERA) and Minor (12-5, 2.87 ERA) were snubbed, but there's been some tremendous pitching in the NL.

We're 57-32, 2.5 up on the Nats. The Dodgers are running away with the West; the Central is chaos. The Brewers lead the division, the Pirates are in last, but just two games back. The Cards were buried most of the first half, but ended with a 10-game winning streak to get right back in it.

On the AL side, the Rays, O's and Yankees are battling for first in the East, the White Sox are in control in the Central and the Angels have a 2.5 game lead over the A's in the West.

Only made a couple of minor moves in the first half. Picked up Robert Hernandez (needed a long reliever) and Alex Presley from the Astros for Jose Veras and Eury Perez. Unloaded Melvin Upton and Pastornicky on the Orioles for Arencibia and minor-league reliever T.J. McFarland. At the start of July, we sent Peterson down and brought Furcal out of retirement to play second.

Looking forward to the second half.

[philliesfan136]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

aside from two Phils franchises (one regular, one 2020 sim), an Astros one, the Mariners one I described, I had one more idea. The ultimate Moneyball A's with a touch of 2009 Oakland and current day:

CF Shane Victorino
SS Josh Rutledge
3B Josh Donaldson
LF Brandon Moss
RF Yoenis Cespedes
1B Christian Walker
DH Delmon Young
2B Jemile Weeks
C Christian Vazquez

OF Cameron Maybin
SS Everth Cabrera
OF Sam Fuld
IF Yangervis Solarte
C/1B Stephen Vogt

Conger, Cron, Travis Shaw, Russell, Jose Miguel Fernandez, Barton, Nakajima, Balentien, Tyler Collins, Ruf, Michael Taylor, Betts, Billy Burns, Sweeney, and Piscotty all on the farm.
-----------------------------------------------
SP Sonny Gray
SP Tyson Ross
SP Gio Gonzalez
SP Clay Buchholz
SP Brett Anderson

LR Drew Pomeranz
MR Blake Treinen
MR Alex Torres
MR Brad Ziegler
SU Tyler Clippard
SU Luke Gregerson
CL Huston Street

Parker, Josh Johnson, Cahill, A.J. Cole, Hahn, Fedde, Francis, Quackenbush, Andrew Bailey, Cook, Keith Butler, Vincent, HRod, Krol, Ynoa is most of the pitching depth.
--------------------------------------------------------
Have a feeling I'm gonna have a lot of fun playing with this mix. Might pursue a CarGo return eventually too!

[rasto1979]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

Guys i need your help. I am playing franchise but i cant find the right combination of sliders and difficulty. Is anyone of you playing with dynamic difficulty? Thanks.

[Jm0ney2001]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

Yes I'm playing with dynamic difficulty and it has been great. But thinking of switching to default all star. Bc I hate when I get to all star+ hitting.

[Bullit]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

Yes I'm playing with dynamic difficulty and it has been great. But thinking of switching to default all star. Bc I hate when I get to all star+ hitting.

You know you can just set the slider to 0 and it will lock the difficulty in place right?

[KBLover]

Re: MLB 15 Franchise Progress Thread

The trading block is heating up as the season enters the second half of June.

Some of the notable names:

The Cardinals are looking to trade 3B Evan Longoria...and his $25M/yr contact...which gets even greater from here. Longoria has hit all of four homeruns this year. His power production has been in steady decline even though scouts think he's still got the same pop in his bat.

The Rockies are having buyer's remorse with Elvis Andrus. The Rockies signed him after Tulowitzski retired due to injury last season. Andrus is doing horribly, batting just .180.

One name has the Marlins' attention - Ben Revere from the Angels. Revere is stuck in the middle behind Trout and in front of ready-to-go prospects at the position. The Angels have a completely barren system on the mound - literally no one that projects to be above average.

Enter the Marlins and their embarrassment of riches on the mound. Feeler talks have started and thoughts were something could get done, according to sources on both sides. Trevor Williams and Josh Hader were two names that were tossed around, with Williams seeming to garner a lot of interest.

A trade between two first-place clubs in their respective divisions could come together sooner than later.

"It seems like an easy match - we both have each other's needs and willing to deal them. Just a matter of hammering out the particulars, " one source for the Angels commented.

The Marlins might want to make sure they get it done quickly because the Cardinals, Padres, and Rockies are all interested in Revere, and all three of them would find Revere to be a very good upgrade over their current CF situations...

The Phillies, just 5 1/2 games behind the Marlins, are looking at Jarred Cosart from the Astros. It's uncertain just how much Cosart would help as the Phillies have a solid rotation, however.