Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

[J_smith2190]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Thinking about dumping this team...😪

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

You guys are sick people LOL. I am highly tempted to draft another team using JSmith's fantasy roster. I am sure I will do that soon.

In the meantime I am rolling along with my sweet Red Birds team and "The Matheny Manifesto". We have the best record in the league and are cruising towards the post season. Ichiro hit number 3000 for me yesterday. Now I can send him to the bench and get Inciarte and Herzberg back into the lineup in their platoon in CF and move Marte back to LF. Ichiro was killing me with is .225 average. He was really struggling all season. But we grinded out the march to 3000.

Yoan Moncada is going to be a beast. he has taken over since being called up and has locked down 2B. My middle infield is set for years with Lindor and Moncada. Brock Holt will be offered a contract though to stick around as a bench utility player (where he really belongs). He is a valuable guy in that regard.

Greg Bird has had a very impressive season. Sitting at .295 with 26 dingers and 70 plus RBI's.

My infield and outfield are pretty set in fact. The team is just really well built and playing great, consistent baseball. The trades for Danny Salazar and Salvador Perez really set the team on fire and we have not looked back. Yordano Ventura also has been lights out.

Bryce Harper is leading the NL in batting (.327) and is 4th in HR's (35) and 2nd in RBI's (97). he is chasing Edwin Encarnacion who sits first in the MVP voting. Harper is second and on his tale.

Marte has been a great leadoff hitter and has 50 plus steals and hitting close to .300. He has been a rock.

Franco has been hot and cold at 3B, but we love him. tyler White has been a really nice player as well filling in at 1B and 3B to give Bird and Franco day's off. I may even platoon him next season with Bird vs left handed pitchers as Bird has struggled mightily vs left handers.

The division leaders are as follows:

Yankees
Royals
Rangers

Mets
Cardinals
Dodgers

The Wild Card teams are incredible tight and too close to call. It will come down to the last week of the season IMO. The Pirates and Cubs are battling for 2 spots in the NL and the AL has 4 teams in a virtual tie.

This has been a wildly successful franchise for me personally. I will be playing this one well into the next release and plan on carrying it over along with the 1987 Quest For Donny Baseball which will be in year 3 by the time MLB 17 comes out.

Once the regular season is over.....Final Standings, playoff brackets and Final team stats will be posted. I just have such limited time and wish I can update as much as you guys have. Any spare time I have is spent playing games. And I have played every pitch and inning of Year one.

Once the Post Season is over on to the first off season. Then I will focus on finishing year 2 of the "Quest For Donny Baseball Year 2"

I am sure I will begin Year 2 for "The Matheny Manifesto" before year end though.

[J_smith2190]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Man Harper is killing it A&S!

I know this drafting thing is a bit insane lol.

Although, I have drafted this team differently than I ever have.


First five picks in order:
Kimbrel, McCann, Gardner, Matz, Fulmer.

Pretty excited about the team itself, and the prospects I complied. Update soon I think you will be surprised.

[J_smith2190]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Opening Day Outlook

The Indians did not fare well during Spring Training, going 11-19. With the advent of the league wide draft, GM Joe Smith was quick to get rid of Terry Francona & his staff. The new manager, Mike Callaway, is signed to a 1 year "prove" it deal, as well as the new farm director. Smith was said to be impressed with Callaway's attention to detail approach.

Lets take a look at how the roster shook out:

Lineup
LF: Brett Gardner (L)
SS: Dansby Swanson (R)
C: Brian McCann (L)
DH: Adam Duvall (R)
1B: Brett Wallace (L)
3B: Jhonny Peralta (R)
RF: Seth Smith (L)
2B: Phil Gosselin (R)
CF: Clint Frazier (R)

Bench
C: Trevor Brown (R)
UTL: Sean O'Malley (S)
UTL: Kelly Johnson (L)
OF: Jake Marisnick

Rotation
Rick Porcello (R)
Steven Matz (L)
Michael Fulmer (R)
David Huff (L)
Bartolo Colon (R)

Bullpen
LRP: David Phelps (R)
MRP: Jim Johnson (R)
MRP: Dan Jennings (L)
MRP: Fernando Rodney (R)
SU: Carson Smith (R)
SU: Andrew Miller (L)
CP: Craig Kimbrel (R)

OUTLOOK

The Indians look on paper to be a solid team. The rotation is led by Rick Porcello, who looks like a lock to be on the staff long-term, as he is signed to a 4 year contract. Steven Matz & Michael Fulmer provide the potential to form a formidable 1-2 punch in the near future. David Huff is a journeyman lefty, and what can be said about Bartolo Colon that hasn't already been said?

The bullpen is a source of strength for the Tribe. Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Carson Smith, and Fernando Rodney should greatly shorten games. Jim Johnson & Dan Jennings should prove serviceable, with David Phelps available for blow-outs & spot starts.

The Indians position player group is an interesting one at that, a mix of established veterans, journeymen and unknown rookies. Brett Gardner and Brian McCann bring solid leadership and all around above average play to a team that will surely need it. Adam Duvall can flat out rake, and Brett Wallace should be effective with the rake. Jhonny Peralta brings a solid glove and the ability to get on base. Dansby Swanson & Clint Frazier will look to establish themselves as the faces of the franchise.

The bench looks strong, with O'Malley & Johnson able to play almost anywhere on the diamond. Brown will serve as understudy to McCann & Marisnick will split the RF duties with Smith as well as provide days off elsewhere when needed.

*Prospect update comming

[J_smith2190]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Key Minor Leagues

The Indians look well positioned to absorb an injury if one were to occur. Here's the key veterans that are stashed away in the minors:

SP: Bud Norris (R) 74 Ovr
SP: Lucas Harrell (R) 69 Ovr
RP: Phil Coke (L) 70 Ovr
RP: Chris Withrow (R) 69 Ovr
RP: Ryan Butcher (L) 69 Ovr
RP: Heath Hembree (R) 69 Ovr
3B/1B: Aaron Hill (R) 69 Ovr
3B/2B: Tommy La Stella (L) 69 Ovr
SS/UTL: Michael Martinez (S) 69 Ovr
LF: Nori Aoki (L) 71 Ovr

Prospects

The Indians have one of the best, if not the best, systems when it comes to prospects. Here's a look at the Indians top 10:

1B: A.J. Reed (L) 73 ovr / A pot
SP: Aaron Blair (R) 71 ovr / A pot
2B: Matt Reynolds (R) 67 ovr / B pot
SP: Jose De Leon (R) 66 ovr / A pot
SP: Josh Hader (L) 65 ovr / A pot
CF: Austin Meadows (L) 64 ovr / A pot
SP: Anthony Kay (L) 62 ovr / B pot
SP: Dustin Driver (R) 59 ovr / B pot
LF: Derek Fisher (L) 57 ovr / B pot
RF: Braxton Davidson (L) 55 ovr / B pot

[J_smith2190]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

The Good

Dansby Swanson (2-4) 1 run scored, 1 stolen base, triple
Clint Frazier (1-3) stolen base
Phil Gosselin (2-3) solo home run

The Bad
3 home runs allowed with runners on base

The Ugly
13-2 beating the Red Sox put on us in front of the home crowd.

[KBLover]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Well, if the Rockies fans were wondering how a slugger-less (at least until Gallo and Mazara hopefully develop) lineup would look in Coors...they'll have the tape of this one to look at.

15 runs.

19 hits.

0 home runs.

6 doubles and a triple.

3 sac flies.

5 walks and just 2 Ks.

Rockies win 15-8 on the strength of an 8-run 6th inning.

"Contact and gap power is what we saw today. If it keeps working like this, they might have proven some folks wrong, " one analyst spoke.

Gallo, the most watched player, has pulled his average to .250 and even he's cut the K's down some (though he still leads the team). Wil Myers went 5-for-5 to help the cause from the back of the order.

In a little irony, Salvador Perez, perhaps the hottest player enter this game, went 0-for-4. He was the only starter without a hit, excluding pitchers.

It's not been a good month for the Rockies, and the pitching has been disappointing so far, but perhaps games like this will just how it will have to be in Coors.

[KBLover]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Mazara will have to head to the DL for a brief stay, largely precautionary.

He was moving his arm around after playing the field and a trainer wanted to take a look at it.

Mazara felt some pain as the shoulder was being examined. He was diagnosed with a pulled shoulder muscle (likely on one of his cannon-arm throws) and will spend a couple weeks on the DL.

Buxton will take over in RF in the meantime. If he does well, he might stay there vs LHP, where Mazara still clearly struggles.

[BA2929]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Anyone else get into that loop where you draft a team, play a few games then start thinking "Man, I could probably get a much better team if I did this or this instead"? Then you just keep drafting over and over again and never get very far in your Franchise?

That's where I am right now. Just drafted my 4th team and I've only had the game for a week lol. This past team I have a lot of power, but I made the mistake of not drafting a true leadoff/2 hole hitter that's MLB ready (I love speed/contact up there, pretty typical). So I'm basically stuck using Josh Harrison and Juan Lagares as my 1/2 hitters ahead of Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton/Victor Martinez and Sal Perez.

[J_smith2190]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Anyone else get into that loop where you draft a team, play a few games then start thinking "Man, I could probably get a much better team if I did this or this instead"? Then you just keep drafting over and over again and never get very far in your Franchise?

That's where I am right now. Just drafted my 4th team and I've only had the game for a week lol. This past team I have a lot of power, but I made the mistake of not drafting a true leadoff/2 hole hitter that's MLB ready (I love speed/contact up there, pretty typical). So I'm basically stuck using Josh Harrison and Juan Lagares as my 1/2 hitters ahead of Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton/Victor Martinez and Sal Perez.

I have ran into the problem more than once, although I normally won't make it into even playing a game before I dump it. Usually a good 1-4 drafts and I can settle in to a franchise. I can certainly say that this Indians team might be my favorite, up there with the Reds team I foolishly dumped (first draft of the year) and right behind the Reds chise I dumped in favor of this (won the ws, was in year two).

Only advice I can give you is this, get a good hold on multiple players that you LIKE to play with. Not saying the Bryce Harper / Carlos Correas of the world. I'm talking more in the arena of the high 60's mid 70's fringe players. I feel as though these are the guys that really make a difference (starting wise) when building a team.

This has enabled me to have Seth Smith, Dansby Swanson & Clint Frazier all in my starting lineup - and focus on other positions earlier in the draft.

Just my 2 cents, hope it helped.

[J_smith2190]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Kb...

Please get piscottiy off of your Sox!

Ever since you acquired him, I play the sox & no matter what 2 things are true.
1) he's on the roster
2) he kills me

I feel as though you have somehow communicated to the show that he belongs on all Red Sox rosters! 😪

[BA2929]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Only advice I can give you is this, get a good hold on multiple players that you LIKE to play with. Not saying the Bryce Harper / Carlos Correas of the world. I'm talking more in the arena of the high 60's mid 70's fringe players. I feel as though these are the guys that really make a difference (starting wise) when building a team.

Oh yea. I love finding some low level guys I like playing with. So far James Loney keeps ending up on my teams because I value a good fielding 1st baseman and he's always around really, really late.

[J_smith2190]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Oh yea. I love finding some low level guys I like playing with. So far James Loney keeps ending up on my teams because I value a good fielding 1st baseman and he's always around really, really late.

CF- Boog Powell is worth a look as a starter. Think he's like 67 rated and 23 yo, more than serviceable in LF at the Majors, and you can get him in the early 30's of a draft. Reminded me a lot of Brett Gardner but with less speed.

[KBLover]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Kb...

Please get piscottiy off of your Sox!

Ever since you acquired him, I play the sox & no matter what 2 things are true.
1) he's on the roster
2) he kills me

I feel as though you have somehow communicated to the show that he belongs on all Red Sox rosters! 😪

Wasn't me, honest.

[KBLover]

Re: Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

Anyone else get into that loop where you draft a team, play a few games then start thinking "Man, I could probably get a much better team if I did this or this instead"? Then you just keep drafting over and over again and never get very far in your Franchise?

Nope.

That's what scouting is for (try to find guys I wish I had/who I need).

And why I always try to draft "too much" of something - so I can possibly trade later on. Like with the Sox, I drafted seemingly every single good CF prospect (I took Mallex and Buxton, and DeShields Jr and the CPU drafted me like 4 more - I draft 40 rounds and CPU does the rest). Traded a lot of them off as needed.

And with these Rockies...if need be, I could deal Nola or one of Syndergaard or Tanaka. Or perhaps even one of Mallex Smith or Buxton (since I have Betts/Mazara and one of those two...or Gallo...could go to LF).

Syndergaard is such a fun name to say, so I'd probably keep him just for that.