MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

[HeavyWeight]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

53-24 with my Indians, still playing this more than Madden/2k right now.

[TheLooseCannon]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Finally finished my first MLB 16 Franchise season last night. Won the World Series against Cleveland in 6 games as the Cubs. I thought it was really cool that my WS mimicked last year's WS somewhat, although the NL won the All-Star game in my Franchise so when I won Game 6 to clinch it the game was at home instead of in Cleveland. Also cool was that the NLCS was between Chicago and Los Angeles for two reasons: for one it again mimicked last year's actual NLCS, but it also had a personal implication because I faced the Dodgers in the NLCS of my MLB 15 The Show Franchise and I ended up losing to them in 6 games. The series went 7 and at times I thought I was going to fall to the Dodgers again, but I rallied and won the last two games. Unfortunately, following the season a handful of my B prospects in the minors retired due to "Poor Free Agent Market", which was perplexing, but I picked up MLB 17 The Show last week so it looks like I'm onto the new game for a fresh Franchise.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Just finished sweeping the Nats in Washington as we move to a game over .500 and 5 games back of the Pirates. Wacha, Bumgarner, and Martinez were brilliant as they combined to allow no runs in the innings they pitched. In fact we only allowed one run in the series. We held Harper to 1 for 10 in the series.

Next is our 4 game interleague set with the Twins.


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[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We have now lost 3 straight as the Twins beat us 3 out of the 4 in our interleague series. Injuries took out our pitching staff as we had the following:

Michael Wacha - Shoulder issue - Most likely heading to DL
Madison Bumgarner - Elbow Inflammation - Most likely heading to DL
Seung Hwan Oh - Torn Rotator Cuff - 60 Day DL/Season Ending - Most likely career ending

I'm trying to determine the best course of action at this point. Who to call up, who to move around...I'm just still trying to wrap my head around be hit this hard by injuries. We are 5 1/2 games out and 2 games under .500 at this point. Plenty of time, late May, to get back into things and Bumgarner and Wacha will definitely be back, but damn this hurts.

Next up is 3 in LA vs the Angels. Just need a win.

[hitstreak13]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We have now lost 3 straight as the Twins beat us 3 out of the 4 in our interleague series. Injuries took out our pitching staff as we had the following:

Michael Wacha - Shoulder issue - Most likely heading to DL
Madison Bumgarner - Elbow Inflammation - Most likely heading to DL
Seung Hwan Oh - Torn Rotator Cuff - 60 Day DL/Season Ending - Most likely career ending

I'm trying to determine the best course of action at this point. Who to call up, who to move around...I'm just still trying to wrap my head around be hit this hard by injuries. We are 5 1/2 games out and 2 games under .500 at this point. Plenty of time, late May, to get back into things and Bumgarner and Wacha will definitely be back, but damn this hurts.

Next up is 3 in LA vs the Angels. Just need a win.

Man those pitching injuries are killer. I had the padres and lost 3/5 of the rotation and had to utilize a 4 man rotation as my minor league squad didn't have anyone ready. Had to go dumpster diving to patch things up. Made it interesting but went like 30-55 in that stretch until I got all 3 back. Crazy times.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We took 2 out of 3 from the Angels. After Carlos Martinez pitched 7 beautiful innings in game 1, our bullpen blew up and lost the game. We managed to come from behind and win game 2, and Marco Gonzales who was called up to make a start due to the injuries, pitched a gem as he went 7 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, and striking out 4. Seth Maness who was sent to Memphis last season and again this Spring, pitched 2 scoreless innings allowing 1 hit as he was called up, along with Louis Coleman, to help give our regulars in the pen a much needed rest.

Next up is a road trip to close out the month of May starting with the Diamondbacks.

Michael Wacha was added to the DL due to shoulder injury, but Bumgarner apparently is ok as he came back as healthy a day or so after the injury. So the blow to our rotation wasn't nearly as bad.

[mlblover15]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Just entering ALCS for second straight year with my fantasy drafted A's. Won it all year one and looking to repeat as champs. All four teams in said round are small market teams... in the AL you have the Twins and A's, and in the NL you have the Pirates and Padres. should be a fun round for all.... right now the Pirates and Padres are tied up at one game apiece. Hopefully, that series goes even and I can sweep the twins...

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Our 4 game winning streak came to and end with a 2-0 loss to the Diamondbacks. Martinez pitched great allowing two solo homers and striking out 11. Once again our bats let us down as we would have runners in scoring position only to strand them there.

Really wish I could view potential hitting coach replacements without having to first fire my current one.

Next up is 3 in Wrigley. Cubs playing great despite Rizzo being out for the year.

We are currently 24-24 and 6 1/2 games behind the Pirates


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[phenom1990]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Our 4 game winning streak came to and end with a 2-0 loss to the Diamondbacks. Martinez pitched great allowing two solo homers and striking out 11. Once again our bats let us down as we would have runners in scoring position only to strand them there.

Really wish I could view potential hitting coach replacements without having to first fire my current one.

Next up is 3 in Wrigley. Cubs playing great despite Rizzo being out for the year.

We are currently 24-24 and 6 1/2 games behind the Pirates


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What year are you in? I enjoy reading your updates. I just couldn't figure it out since you stayed with The Show 16 this year.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

What year are you in? I enjoy reading your updates. I just couldn't figure it out since you stayed with The Show 16 this year.

Thanks for following

I'm in year 2018 so 3rd season with '16. Some hiccups last year and then deciding between '16 and '17 this year slowed me down.




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[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Been a while since updates:

We have completed the month of May and are now 5 1/2 games behind the Pirates as we sit 2 games above .500 (28-26). We finished the month with a 4 game split against the Giants. And yes MadBum pitched in this series and yes he dominated until the 5th inning when he had to be pulled due to injury. Thankfully it was a day to day thing and he's back at full strength.

As we head into the pivotal month of June in positioning and evaluating our roster, the biggest concerns we have are SS (Diaz just hitting .193). We have turned this position over to Tejada and he's hitting over .320 right now, but his fielding is nowhere near as smooth as Diaz. Another concern is that we don't have a number 6 hitter on the roster at the moment, although I'm thinking that from June 1st thru Father's Day, we are going to hit Stephen Piscotty in this spot and move Tejada to the number 2 hole that Piscotty currently holds. I love having Piscotty at the number 2 spot as he had bat control to hit and run when Sierra is on, and hits for good enough average to put runners on for Carpenter/Holliday/Grichuk. But we are getting no run production from this spot, so this 2 week experiment is well worth it in my opinion.

The last issue we have is the fact that Holliday is struggling. He's hitting .230, had little power at his age, and isn't driving in runs. We can move him from the cleanup spot and put Grichuk there, but then Holliday is hitting 5th. Thought about moving him to the 2 hole, but then we are back in the situation where we have no run producers in the middle of the order. I still have faith that he'll turn things around, but after 2 months its becoming a big concern.

As for the biggest surprises in baseball are the fact that the Braves lead the NL East with the Phillies (Joe Maddon manager) are in 2nd just 3 games out. The Mets are mixed in there, while the Marlins are 4th and the Nationals are 10+ out already.

Another surprise is that despite letting MadBum walk, the Giants are battling the Dodgers for the top spot in the West. The Giants are 2 games behind and with MadBum out, Johnny Cueto is taking charge with a 9-0 record thus far with a 1.23 ERA.

Rays lead the AL East
Indians lead the AL Central
Astros lead the AL West
Braves lead the NL East
Pirates lead the NL Central
Dodgers lead the NL West

We begin the month of June at home with the surprising Braves. Pivotal month to determine if we have a shot at a 3rd straight Central division crown or if we are going to be hunting the wildcard. Also will determine what we do in 6-8 weeks when the trade deadline comes up.

[TheWarmWind]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Got a question for my fellow Franchise gearheads. I'm in need of a second opinion. (I know, I know this is a thread for 16 and I'm playing 17 but this question is pretty universal)

So I've got a relief pitcher who, in his first year on the 40 man, earned his way onto the roster. He struggled with a few meltdowns but also showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie season, and overall kept his spot on the team.

In his sophomore season he was rock solid, earning a spot as a 7th inning stopper and being a big part of my 123 combo at the backend of my bullpen. At the end of the season I rewarded him with a 6 year, 24 million dollar contract (4mil per year) in the hopes that it would be a win win situation. He gets more money now and I get some good dollar value years later.

However, this spring training he has been horrendous. He's exploded in multiple situations and is sporting around a 6.75 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. My system is flush with good pitching prospects, and there are several people who I feel could easily perform well at the MLB level by taking his place on the 25 man.

So my question is: Should I approach spring training as a pure meritocracy and send him down to the minors, or should I give him the benefit of the doubt due to his performance over the last 2 years and wait and see how moving to the regular season affects him?

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Got a question for my fellow Franchise gearheads. I'm in need of a second opinion. (I know, I know this is a thread for 16 and I'm playing 17 but this question is pretty universal)

So I've got a relief pitcher who, in his first year on the 40 man, earned his way onto the roster. He struggled a few meltdowns but also showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie season, and overall kept his spot on the team.

In his sophomore season he was rock solid, earning a spot as a 7th inning stopper and being a big part of my 123 combo at the backend of my bullpen. At the end of the season I rewarded him with a 6 year, 24 million dollar contract (4mil per year) in the hopes that it would be a win win situation. He gets more money now and I get some good dollar value years later.

However, this spring training he has been horrendous. He's exploded in multiple situations and is sporting around a 6.75 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. My system is flush with good pitching prospects, and there are several people who I feel could easily perform well at the MLB level by taking his place on the 25 man.

So my question is: Should I approach spring training as a pure meritocracy and send him down to the minors, or should I give him the benefit of the doubt due to his performance over the last 2 years and wait and see how moving to the regular season affects him?

Personally, I would let him have the month of April to see how things work out. At least the first two weeks. If he doesn't return to old form then I'd send him to the minors to see if he works his kinks out.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We were able to take 2 out of 3 against the Braves and move to within 4 1/2 games of the Pirates. We still aren't playing that great and we did make a move sending Justin Wilson down to Memphis and calling up Paul DeJong. We are still trying to decide what to do with Aledmys Diaz. We actually signed him to a 3 year deal in the offseason thinking he'd be our everyday SS, but thus far he isn't producing offensively. Reuben Tejada is there now, but we are going to have him platoon with DeJong as DeJong has pop in his bat that could help balance out our lineup by placing him in the #6 spot. Piscotty is holding the fort there now, but that means Tejada is hitting 2nd and that's not really working out. Piscotty is better served as our #2 hitter in front of Carpenter.

Injuries continue to plague our minor league system as we now have 7 guys on the DL. We did get Wacha back off the DL so it will be nice having that 1-2-3 combination again of Wacha, Bumgarner, and Martinez.

Positive for our minor league system is that Memphis is killing it in the PCL as they are 44-13 thus far. Yeah, I have talent at that level.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Coming up on the Amateur Draft. Really need to focus on 1B, RP, 2B, and 3B. Wouldn't mind snagging an outfielder as well or maybe another LH starting pitcher.