MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

[HozAndMoose]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

<table><td bgcolor=#004684>End of May - 2018</td></table>

We entered the month at 12-15. With one of the worst pitching staffs. That all changed in May. We won 8 of 9 series. Including sweeps of Oakland, Seattle, Minnesota and a 4 game sweep of Cleveland. We sit at 34-21. Best record in the AL. With a 3 game lead in the division over Chicago.

As much as the pitching staff was responsible for the bad April. They are just as responsible for the great May. We had a 4.80 ERA in April. Both the starters and relievers pitching terribly. In 28 games this month we had a 2.96 ERA. Mike Minor got it all started with a CGSO against the Blue Jays in the first game of the month. He went 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 43.2 IP in 6 starts. Including another CGSO against the Indians. He is 6-3 on the year with a 2.88 ERA in 72 IP. The most impressive performance of the month has to go to Danny Duffy though. In 4 starts he went 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA. Ventura and Lyles combined to go 7-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 70.1 IP. Their last 8 starts they have a 2.75 ERA in 52.1 IP. Our 5th starter still hasnt been very good. Kennedy, Zimmer and Medlen combined to go 2-4 with a 6.55 ERA in 34.1 IP. Zimmer is the current 5th. His last 2 starts have been promising. 3 ER in 6.1 IP. And 2 ER in 5 IP. The Bullpen has stepped up as well. Herrera and Hochevar have their ERA's at 2.75 and 2.37 respectively. Soria is a 3.33 with a 0.93 WHIP. And in a very small sample Dillon Gee hasnt allowed a run in 7 IP out of the pen. Daniel Hudson though is trying his best to get DFA'd. ERA up to 6.97 in 20.2 IP. If Zimmer cant continue what he has done in his last 2 starts we will call up Christian Binford. Send Zimmer to the pen. And Hudson will be gone.

The offense was somehow even better than it was. 4.6 runs per game in May after having 4.4 in April. We are 4th in runs with 250, 10th in HR with 58 and and we are 4th, 6th and 6th in AVG/OBP/SLG at .273/.340/.422. Alex Gordon still the best overall hitter probably. Hitting .320/.403/.480 with 6 HR and 30 RBI. Lorenzo Cain finally got his 1st HR on May 27th. He is hitting .318/.380/.431 and leads the team in WAR at 2.37. For the moment. Giving Moose the big contract over Hoz working out well. Moose is hitting .266/.350/.531 with 13 HR. While Hoz is on the DL after breaking his forearm and wont be back till August. He was hitting .279/.330/.454 with 7 HR prior to the injury. Kendrys Morales and Jackson Yates are the most improved guys this month. Morales is on a 17 game hit streak in which he has hit .394 and overall in May he hit .321. Yates came into the month hitting .196/.275/.283. He ends the month hitting .253/.353/.374. In 84 at bats he hit .317/.434/.476. And his last 18 games have been even better. .371/.500/.516 with 3 HR. He is seeing the ball extremely well with with 17 walks this month and has reached base in 16 straight games. The rookies have struggled a bit though. Mondesi now hitting .258/.314/.419 with 3 HR and Balbino hitting .250/.322/.462 with 6 HR. Christian Colon might be stealing some play time from Alcides Escobar here really soon. Esky is hitting.221/.267/.300 in 190 AB(why the hell did i give him a 4 year deal?) Colon is hitting.358/.427/.448 in 67 at bats.

In AAA, Jose Martinez is hitting .326/.430/.487 with 7 HR. Cuthbert is hitting .324/.370/.447 with 4 HR. Christian Binfford is 4-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 74 IP. Luke Farrell is 6-4 with a 2.45 ERA in 66 IP. and Steve Miller has a 2.14 ERA in 0.86 WHIP in 21 innings out of the pen.

In AA, Some of the young pitchers are playing very well. 21 year old Nolan Watson has a 3.79 ERA in 71.1 IP. 21 year old Ashe Russell has a 3.79 ERA in 59.1 IP. 20 year old Tom Hoyt has been injured a bit but is fine right now and has a 0.51 ERA in 17.2 IP with a 0.74 WHIP. And last 18 year old Woody Gunter has a 3.14 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP in 48.2 IP. 20 year Marten Gasparini is hitting .306/.378/.438. Mark Wilkerson is hitting .305/.362/.381 in 118 at bats. Currently on the DL with a pulled calf but should be back at any time. Bijan Rademacher is hitting .347/.411/.469 in 49 at bats. Came up after some injuries and making sure he stays so far.

15 division games coming up between now and the AS game. So far we are dominating the division going 14-5 in those games. There are 13 games on the road in that same time span. We are better on the road so far than at home at 19-11 compared to 15-10. Might be the best team we have had the last couple years. And I didnt expect that at all.

2018 First Year Player Draft

Spoiler

Not all that good of a draft for us this year.

1st round we took 22 year old RF Dino Torres. Gonna hit for more power than AVG and is an okay fielder. Gonna strike out a ton though. Probably wont ever be an everyday guy in the majors

In the compensatory round we took 21 year old 2B Carlos Villarreal. Not very good at anything. Might progress to an avg fielder. But thats about it.

2nd we took 23 year old SS Will Richard. Like Villarreal he probably wont be much of anything. He could raise his ceiling with time but at 23 he wont have much of that. Good baserunner is about it.

3rd round we took 19 year old 2B Robert Ulrich. Much better chance at major league career than the first 3 picks. Really good fielder and baserunner. Can probably be a .270/.330/.400 guy. Plenty of time to develop.

4th round we picked 21 year old catcher Francis Regan. Has the highest ceiling of anyone we picked. But not very good at all so he may never reach that potential. Good fielder and fast for a catcher. Struggles hitting though.

5th round we picked 19 year old RF Rolando Cardona. Small guy at 5'7 160. Scouts say he may not get much better than he already is. Pretty good at the plate and can see the ball well.

And with our last pick we took 23 year old SP Brad Burnette. Not exceptional at any one thing. But good overall. Best chance at be a contributor in the next few years. At his best could be a good #3 starter.

[NDAlum]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Yea put me in the crowd that sees plenty of injuries! My lineup (Twins) was just decimated by injuries as most of the in-game variety seem to be from diving/sliding.

My rookie catcher who was hitting .275 in the first 30 games tore his Achilles so he's likely out for the rest of the year. Then Miguel Sano slides head first into 3rd and fractures his arm, he's out 2-3 months.

I'm 22-21 so far in 2018. My lineup just lost a 30-HR guy and a promising young catcher.

That 19-year old SP I have is currently 4-0 with an ERA right under 3.00, but his season hasn't been dominant. He's the beneficiary of some great offensive support and clutch pitching. His WHIP is around 1.35 and K:BB is about 2:1. I feel like he is fool's gold at this moment.

On the flip side, Jose Berrios is finally coming into his own. When I pitch with the 19 year old it feels super tough to K people but Berrios gets so many swings and misses. He's 5-2 with an ERA around 3.00 and about 10+ K/9. He's really really fun to pitch with.

I'm excited for the draft in a couple weeks. I should have a top-10 pick and really need a good position player or two to stock my farm system. Right now I've stocked the pitching but the position side of things is thin and my guys aren't progressing. The only guy I think is close to getting a call up is Nick Gordon who is in the low 70's. The problem there is that he's at the deepest spot in my big league squad.

If I fall out of the race I might look to trade my best value piece...2B Brian Dozier. He's a really really solid all-around player and having a good season. He's hitting like .260 with 11 HR and 30 RBI. With the injuries that took place I don't see myself competing, but if my guys play over their heads and we stay in the race I'll become a buyer in July. I will not hesitate to ship out some valuable arms to get a bat in the lineup.

[EWRMETS]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Yea put me in the crowd that sees plenty of injuries! My lineup (Twins) was just decimated by injuries as most of the in-game variety seem to be from diving/sliding.

Default injuries? I've played every game through June 17 and have seen two major injuries but not enough minor ones.

[KBLover]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Default injuries? I've played every game through June 17 and have seen two major injuries but not enough minor ones.

I'm at 10 injuries and play every game and hardly see them. I finally had one in my other franchise on a diving fielding attempt.

Took until September to have 5 guys on the DL.

There's a lot of irl teams that would love that.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

I'm at 10 injuries and play every game and hardly see them. I finally had one in my other franchise on a diving fielding attempt.

Took until September to have 5 guys on the DL.

There's a lot of irl teams that would love that.

I play on default and have seen several injuries to my team. My team was really bitten by the injury bug earlier in the year, but right now (knocks on wood) we are relatively healthy.

[KBLover]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

I play on default and have seen several injuries to my team. My team was really bitten by the injury bug earlier in the year, but right now (knocks on wood) we are relatively healthy.

That's what I want to deal with. I mean like the irl Yankees, for example, have 8 people on the ML DL...in June. That's not even the most in the league.

Closest thing I've had to that was Finnegan going on the DL 3 times, the third time effectively ending his season.

Removes a big part of the challenge of running a franchise if the injuries don't show up.

[UTAllTheWay]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

I put injuries on 8 and I watched Robinson Cano leave a game with a pulled hamstring on a play he didn't even really try for the ground ball.

Then the next game, my pitcher Jake Peavy left the game in the 2nd inning because of a sore back.

Then the NEXT game, the Dodgers lost their pitcher in the 4th because of an injured finger. He was getting rocked for 4 runs in that inning, too, so it may have just been hurt pride lol

[NDAlum]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Default injuries? I've played every game through June 17 and have seen two major injuries but not enough minor ones.

I want to say it's at 6, so nothing crazy.

[scooterperpetual]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

I just want to preface this with saying I absolutely love this game. I woke up around 9am its now 4 I have been playing it non stop minus an hour or so. Also just absolutely love the carryover saves I have loved doing a full 162 game season. I have played 31 games so far and I have probably had this save for around 2 weeks so I can probably get through at least 1.5 seasons before the next iteration of the show.

Anyways last time I left off we had finished up the Oakland series. We then traveled back home to Houston and took own the Minnesota Twins. This series was surprisingly close for how bad the Twins had been playing (2-8 in their last 10 leading up to this). Game 1 was a pretty comfortable game for me as we built up a 4-1 lead going into the 9th. Giles who was already very tired had to come in to close things down as Luke Gregerson has been struggling mighty.

We ended up winning 4-2 but it was a sketchy ending. Game 2 was a lot closer than it looks. It was a 4-2 ball game going into the 6th. Then we scored 4 in that inning to make it 6-2, then 2 more in the 7th to take a 8-2 lead and we won that game.


Game 3 was the best of the series easily. The Twins took an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning we responded to tie it up 1-1. They took the lead right back in the 4th 2-1 we responded taking the lead from them making it a 3-1 ballgame. All was quiet until the 9th when Giles was in again as Gregerson once again was struggling walking the first guy after allowing a hit in the previous inning (Had him come in to get the last out in the 8th).

Giles blew his first save of the season on a 2 run home run by Polanco giving the Twins a 4-3 lead and they ended up winning the game in which both teams combined for only 10 hits.


So far this Mariners series has been very interesting to say the least and like the above this game was a lot closer than it looked (Game 1). We were deadlocked at 2 a piece going into the 9th, after a scoreless top of the 9th we had a chance to walk it off.

Carlos Gomez got on base after being called on to pinch hit. Then Tyler White struck out and Altuve was able to get on base as well. So runners on 1st and 2nd. I think the runners got to 2nd and 3rd some how but cant quite remember.

Anyways George Springer at the plate and he loves the first pitch he sees fast ball right down the middle of the plate a little low but he smashes it to left field and into the Crawford Boxes and walks off the ballgame Astros win 5-2.

Game 2 Doug Fister got the start and he has been struggling thus far this season and this continues mightily here. He allowed 5 runs on 15 pitches in the first inning then 1 more run for good measure. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and tried to allow him to work his way out of trouble but when there were runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out and 6 already in I had to pull him.

So in comes Chris Devenski for his first sort of start. He pitched in the game the night before and did well holding the Mariners scoreless for 1.2 innings. He held them scoreless 5.2 solid innings of work with 3 strike outs and not a single walk. Great performance for the rookie. Feliz finished off the last 3 innings allowing 1 home run final score, 7-0. Offense never got going in this one.

So after that mess of a game I decided it was time to take Fister out of the rotation. His ERA at this point was 6.12 with a 1.21 WHIP not crazy numbers but he just has struggled too much and we have too many capable pitcher able to do much better than that. He can earn the spot back though.

Ill talk about the new starter shortly.

Game 3 was a complete reversal of roles as we struck for 5 in the first inning and then picked up 3 in the 4th, and 1 in both the 5th and 6th inning. Dallas Keuchel pitched a complete game shutout racking up 6 K's in the outing picking up his 5th win of the season, still undefeated.

Game 4 will be King Felix vs Colin McHugh in what is sort of a rubber match as the Mariners look to split the series and we look to win it.

So for the starter position I thought about giving it to Michael Feliz he has pitched very well this year, serving as a "cleanup" man of sorts early in the season just taking care of messes, either us blowing out the other team or vice versa. Anyways when I made those roster moves that I said in the last post he earned himself a Middle Reliever spot and Devenski was the new cleanup man.

But I just thought he did so well as a reliever I didnt want to mess with that he really only has 1-2 pitches that I can really count on and I just dont think he is ready enough to be a starting pitcher so Devenski got the job.

Likely Devenski wont remain as the starter once McCullers come back but he has the job for now and maybe he can keep it if he impresses in his next outing.

Dallas Keuchel is 2nd in Cy Young voting
Carlos Correa is leading the AL Batting Race (Though he is declining fast in batting average as expected)
Tyler White is leading ROTY voting
Jason Castro is leading Silver Slugger for Catcher
Carlos Correa is leading Silver Slugger for Shortstop
George Springer is 3rd in Silver Slugger for Outfield.

A few guys are just about ready for a callup but unfortunately its more pitchers, Francis Martes is tearing up AAA with a 1.91 ERA and 0.99 WHIP and should be called up any day now I just dont know where I will put him. I am definitely going to be looking to sell pitchers at deadline or in the off season if these guys pan out.

Tony Kemp may be ready to get called up again as he is batting .278 in AAA and Andrew Aplin has not been cutting it one bit.

[scooterperpetual]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Question, does it mess with anything if I call up a player and send him down multiple times in one season? I know his options dont get used but does anything happen to discourage this?

[KBLover]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Question, does it mess with anything if I call up a player and send him down multiple times in one season? I know his options dont get used but does anything happen to discourage this?

Not to my knowledge. I haven't see any ill effects from moving a player between ML and AAA frequently. Doesn't seem to hinder his development. The only maybe is morale, but that doesn't have a large effect, even if he became completely angry (-4 OVR I think) due to him being upset about his role.

[scooterperpetual]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Not to my knowledge. I haven't see any ill effects from moving a player between ML and AAA frequently. Doesn't seem to hinder his development. The only maybe is morale, but that doesn't have a large effect, even if he became completely angry (-4 OVR I think) due to him being upset about his role.

Okay good to know, think I am going to bounce Tony Kemp back and forth between AAA and MLB.

[baseball_fever]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Apri Recap: (Blue Jays 86-76, missed playoffs in 2016)

We are a month into the 2017 season. A very interesting month it was for the Toronto Blue Jays. After scuffling out of the gates with a 3-7 record. The Jays went onto to win 8 in a row. But then closed out the month by dropping 5 of 8. The Jays sit -14 in run differencial through one month. The club is tied for last with only 1 triple in April, and 4th last in team ERA at 4.45. Osuna and Donaldson lead their respective positions in all star voting.

The Blue Jays minor leaguer of the month award goes to 19 year old Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He hit .383 with 3 HRs and 19 RBIs. Alex Jackson, last year's big prospect aquisition hit .314 in April with 5 HRs and 17 RBIs. The Jays #1 prospect Anthony Alford hit just .221 with 1 HR and 12 RBIs in his first taste of AAA. Jacoby Jones the Jays other big prospect add last year hit .333 with 3 HRs and 10 RBIs this month. Sean Reid Foley was a disaster in April. Harris also struggled but Connor Greene looked very good at times.

Blue Jays 14-12
6GB

Bisons 15-10
1 GB

Fisher Cats 14-11
1 GB

Jays stats leaders:

Runs: JD 17
Hits: JD 34
HR: JD 10
RBIs: JD 20
SB: R Fields 6
AVG: JD .312
Walks: Troy 14
2B: Pompey 8
WAR: JD 1.47

IP: Storman/Estrada 38
Strikeouts: Sanchez 34 (In 34.1 IP)
ERA: Estrada 2.61 (Sanchez 2.88)
WHIP: Estrada 0.98 (Sanchez 1.11)

Jays 2016 draft picks:

TJ Zeuch 2-2 ERA 3.16 WHIP 1.32 (22 Ks in 25.2 IP)
JB Woodman only 28 ABs hit .321
Zach Jackson IP 2.0 ERA 0.00
All other picks playing in single A


Here are some highlights from the month of April.

- Blue Jays 14-12 (6 GB of Baltimore)
- Baltimore 20-6 Best record in the majors
- Twins 8-19 Worst record in the majors (Rockies 8-18 and Phillies 9-17)
- Angles surprising team of the month 19-8. Lead the west by 4 games over Seattle.
- D'Backs won 11 in a row to take a lead in the NL West at 16-10 (0.5 up on SD)

Awards:

- Adam Jones currently leading MVP race. Jones is hitting .333/11/25
- Giancarlo Stanton leads the NL race at .348/11/29
- Both Eduardo Escobar and Derek Norris are the two biggest surprises this year and both sit second in MVP voting.
- Chris Tillman leads CY Young race at 5-0 1.43 and 32Ks
- Kershaw (Who else) leads the NL at 4-1 1.55 and 65Ks
- Yankee 24 year old OF Aaron Judge leads the rookie of the year race. He's hitting .240/3/10
- Phillies OF Nick Williams leads in the NL hitting .310/2/11

Top Prospects:

SP Lucas Giolito (Demoted to AAA) IP 13.2 ERA 7.90 WHIP 1.68
SP Julio Urias (Demoted to AAA) IP 24.0 ERA 6.00 WHIP 1.96
SS JP Crawford .159/1/4
SS Orlando Arcia .208/2/7
2B Yoan Moncada .222/1/3
SS Dansby Swanson (Demoted to AAA) .190/0/0 in 58ABs
SP Tyler Glasnow IP 23.0 ERA 2.74 WHIP 1.70
SS Trea Turner .114/1/1 4 For 35
SS Brenden Rodgers (AAA stats-Has not made MLB debut) .255/5/13
SP Alex Reyes (Demoted to AAA) IP 13.2 ERA 7.90 WHIP 2.49


Top 2016 draft prospects:

CF Mickey Moniak .278/1/9
3B Nick Senzel .253/1/9
SP Ian Anderson IP 32.0 ERA 4.22 WHIP 1.34
SP Riley Pint IP 29.0 ERA 3.72 WHIP 1.51
RF Corey Ray .267/6/13
SP A.J. Puk IP 34.1 ERA 2.10 WHIP 1.25
SP Braxton Garret IP 28.0 ERA 3.86 WHIP 1.57
SP Cal Quantrill IP 31.0 ERA 3.77 WHIP 1.48
SP Matt Manning IP 24.2 ERA 5.11 WHIP 1.66
C Zack Collins .263/2/6

Nolan Jones leads AA all star voting at 3B (Eastern league)
Joe Rizzo leads AA all star voting at 3B (Southern League)
Ozhaino Albies leads AA all star voting at SS (Southern League)
Franklin Barreto leads at SS (Texas League)
Trenton Clark leads at CF (Southern League)
Daz Cameron leads at CF (Texas League)
Kyle Tucker leads right field (Texas League)
Blue Jays notable Vlad Jr is 2nd at RF (Eastern league)

See you ya'll in a few weeks for May's recap. GL to all of you in your franchise's.

[LowerWolf]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

I've finished May with the Braves. We lost 11 of 13 during the first half of the month, but rebounded nicely by going 9-2 to close it. We enter June at 24-28, third place in the East, 6.5 games behind the Nats with the Mets in second. We're also 6.5 out of the wild card.

The Dodgers have a glut of OFs in their system (Crawford is still useful in my universe) so we acquired Trayce Thompson from them. He's only hitting. 214 in eight games as a Brave, but he has three homers and seven RBIs.

Despite a 5-4 record, Julio Teheran has entered the CY Young race with a league-leading 1.59 ERA.

[scooterperpetual]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Very rarely do I have a rage indusing thing happen in The Show (At least not to this degree) now of days. Anyways in a tight battle top of the ninth the Mariners decide to put down a suicide squeeze and the batter misses so this is a sure out. Well what happens? My catcher decides to start running behind home plate. I guess it was a glitch.

Anyways I wasnt going to sacrifice such a great game to a bug. So I took control of the Mariners bunted to get my out that would have been given if the game didnt bug and then struck out the next guy.

Had to put the game on Beginner and pump up sliders but Altuve got a home run to tie it.

So I had to do the rest of the ninth in a game that would have been tied with my 2, 3, 4 hitters instead of 9, 1, 2. Was an annoying bug but I fixed it just wish I didnt have to, definetly ruined the game to a degree for me but oh well. Anyways in the bottom of the 10th Gattis busted the slump he has been in hitting a 2 run home run to walk it off. Altuve got a free home run due to the bug so that is cool I guess.

Anyways just felt like venting lol. Have contemplated restarting my franchise due to toying with sliders to get better stats but I will just stick with it the way it is. I have some inflated numbers but they are going down now. Still bugs me that Jake Marisnick is batting near 400 even if it is limited plate appearances.

We take the series 3-1. Lance McCullers comes back soon which will be awesome.