Official MLB The Show 16 Fantasy Draft Franchise Progress Thread

[J_smith2190]

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

Kelly Johnson now has 3 hr & 7 rbi while filling in for Brett Wallace. "Big" Bartolo allowed 1 run and secured the victory pitching against Max Scherzer.

[J_smith2190]

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

Fulmer pitched a complete game shutout with 8k and 2 hits against the in state rival Reds. The victory pushed the Tribe into first place for the first time all season.

[KBLover]

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

The season is nearing the final week and the Sox and Rays are still dueling for the AL East.

Both teams have been playing inspired baseball of late. The Rays on a 5-game win streak and the Sox winning 6 of 7.

The two teams are in the process of meeting for the final time in regular season play. After that, the last week will decide the fates of this newly minted rivalry.

[Armor and Sword]

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

Matheny's Red Birds 1 Game Away From World Series Birth with 2-1 Win Over The Reeling Mets

October 19th 2016 - The St Louis Cardinals pitching staff is doing some special things in this NLCS. The Red Birds reeled off their second straight win at Citi-Field as starter Carlos Rodon pitched 6 scoreless innings and the bullpen did the rest en route to a tight 2-1 win. The Cards now lead the best of 7 series 3-1 and are on the verge of GM Michael Swords first World Series after constructing this team via the draft. To give you an idea of the dominance of the Cards pitching staff consider in their 3 wins they have given up a total of 1 earned run. Let that sink in for a moment. The Red Birds staff has had two shutouts and a game they allowed just one run. Game two was the only time they got shelled (and 8-0 loss). Greg Bird continues to rake and Ender Inciarte busted out with a 3-4 game including two doubles.

LHP Daniel Norris will take the hill and try and close out The Mets in the Big Apple to vault the Cardinals to the World Series. If the Mets manage to stay alive they will go back to St Louis and have to face Danny Salazar in game six and if needed Yordano Ventura in game 7. In the AL the Royals fought back to get their first win in the ALCS and now trail the Rangers 2-1.

[KBLover]

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

Sox (and Rays) Clinch Playoff Berth
Division Crown Remains in Doubt

It took 161 games, but both the Sox and Rays locked up playoff berths. This development is a side-effect of the two teams both playing well and matching wins with each other for the most part.

Both teams won in game #161 and the division is still up for grabs. If the Sox lose and Rays win, a 163rd game will be needed to decide the division crown.

Either way, a disappointing second half gave way in time for the Sox to at least get back to the postseason. Still, 87 wins, at the most, is not what anyone had in mind, neither fans nor front office.

A poor showing in the playoffs might pressure management to make some big moves. Miguel Sano, put on a pedestal last season, is one that people are now talking about being "unneeded".

How fast things change.

[Armor and Sword]

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

The Cardinals Win The Pennant!!! Score 3 Runs In The Top Of The 9th To Secure Trip To The World Series!

October 28th 2016 - The Red Birds entered this game knowing they only had to win one of the next three. But it did not matter. Daniel Norris pitched 7 solid innings yielding just 2 runs. However Lance McCullers was cruising for the Mets until a sharp line drive was hit back up the middle by Starling Marte off McCullers shoulder in the 7th inning. It did not matter though (McCullers had to exit with a shoulder injury). The Met's bullpen held serve till the top of the 9th. Starling Marte would draw a lead off walk from closer Sean Doolittle. On an 0-2 pitch to Francisco Lindor he would swipe second. Linder would fly out. Harper and Bird would then draw back to back walks to load the bases. Maikel Franco would rip a single to score Marte. Salvador Perez would then hit a sacrifice fly to score Harper from third and move Bird to third and tie the game 2-2. Then Ichiro Suzuki would come hope and hit a skipping ground ball towards the middle second base side, Jason Kipnis would try to glove it but it would get by!!! Bird would score the go ahead run.

Enter Betantes who was pitching in his third game in a row to close it out. He would again slam the door shut. Red Birds win!!!!

They will face The KC Royals who upset the heavily favored Texas Rangers four games to three in the ALCS.

We will begin the series tomorrow!!!

[KBLover]

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

Sox Relegated to Wild Card
Lose 5-4 in Game 163.

The Sox lost this game in fitting fashion. They drew a ton of walks, eight all told, but could muster just four hits. Two of those hits came from Gallo, who's getting hot at the perfect time, and accounted for 2 of the 4 runs.

However, he couldn't get any support from anyone else, and that would be a bad trend to have heading into another one-game playoff as the team has to play in the Wild Card round.

"The important thing is we're playing October baseball, " Gallo spoke postgame, "We can put this average season behind us with a strong postseason and another World Series win."

It will certainly be considered a disappointing regular season campaign, playoff berth notwithstanding. But Gallo is right, another Commissioner's Trophy would wash the bitter taste away in fine fashion.

[KBLover]

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

End of Season Report

The Sox finish at 86-77, down 5 wins from last year's total. As a team, it's a disappointing mark, but it was good enough for the playoffs.


Awards Placement

The Sox had no one in the top 3 of any of the major awards. Joey Gallo was the closest, presumably. Another bit of disappointment for the organization.

One bright spot is that the Sox dominated the AL Gold Glove awards. Piscotty (1B), Russell (2B), Sano (LF) and Hernandez (RF), though Hernandez only half counts. Sano's hardware was most surprising, but he picked up 11 assists and made just 2 errors.

Leaderboard Placement

Batting Average:
Piscotty, 4th, .321

Doubles:
Mateo, 8th, 37
Gallo, 8th, 37

Home runs:
Gallo, 3rd, 42
Schwarber, 10th, 34

RBI:
Gallo, 3rd, 115

Runs:
Gallo, 7th, 97

Steals:
Mateo, 1st, 52
DeShields Jr, 4th, 28

Wins:
Walker, 2nd, 18
Maeda, T-8th, 14

ERA:
Sale, 5th, 2.76

Strikeouts:
Sale, 1st, 264

Innings:
Sale, 3rd, 228
Walker, 7th, 212.2

Pitching WAR:
Sale, 2nd, 5.92
Walker, 8th, 3.96


Prospect Rankings

Spoiler

Here's how the prospects end the season ranked in the organization.

1. OF Byron Buxton - Perhaps, at last, the bat is starting to come around. He raised his batting average to .274 and is starting show some power. He hit 9 HR in 274 AB compared to 5 in 470 AB last season. Whether or not the power sustains, the bat is now good enough for him to be considered for full-time play. Defensively, he's a brilliant fielder with smooth strides and great reads on the ball. He can make most of the throws needed and certainly his arm is nothing to complain about.

2. SP Alex Reyes - His power arm is starting to translate into strikeouts. This is a very welcome sign and has shot him up the organizational chart. Alex still needs to learn how to harness that arm and not rely only on K's, but this is very promising. Also positive is his command is improving, the other of his major weaknesses. He may have earned his way out of the organizational dog house as a result.

3. SS Jorge Mateo - It's debatable whether or not Mateo is a "prospect" given he has 2 full major league seasons under his belt, but he is still a young, developing player. Like Buxton, the bat is the question mark, especially be a light-hitting dead pull hitter. Jorge makes it work, though, whipping that bat through the zone and giving third basemen fits with hard grounders and liners instead of just drag bunts. This stroke is also PERFECT for Fenway and his doubles jumped from 22 to 37. His average dropped out of the .300's, but considering a lot of that .300 last year was bunt singles, the net result is a positive one. Trading a few singles for almost twice the doubles is a trade that's just positive all around.

4. OF Mallex Smith - Mallex is really working hard and it's showing on the field. The Boston outfield might get very crowded next spring, indeed. Like Mateo and Buxton, the contact bat is starting to perk up and become more refined. Like Jorge, Mallex relied less on drag bunts and increased his gap production. Unlike Jorge, Mallex's batting average stayed steady, and he's arguably the best "true" hitting prospect if Jorge and Byron aren't "prospects" in the traditional sense of the word any longer. Defensively, he might be the team's best pure fielder. He seems to cover every inch of his position, and then some, consistently. His arm is the only weakness.

5. 3B Kevin Diaz - There's a case to be made that the 19-year-old infielder should be higher on the list. He already has a plus, flashing plus-plus, arm. His throws are like laser-guided missiles around the diamond. All that's needed is a faster release and a little more accuracy. Footwork is still a work in progress, but he'll stick at 3B as his arm is wasted elsewhere on the infield and he doesn't know outfield. The bat is also pretty well developed. Again, arguably major-league quality already. He's showing signs of filling out his frame as well as scouts noted increased strength and game power as the year went on.

6. SP Julio Urias - Here we come to the first disappointing result. Julio is finding his place in the majors after a very solid campaign, but scouts are also thinking he might not be so hot. They lowered his future value from A to B, and his progress has been decent, but not like the other "big three" young pitchers. Overall, still on track to be solid, but that "future ace" designation might be in doubt. He may evolve into a high floor, but lower ceiling type of prospect. Reasonable, useful, but disappointing at the same time.

7. SP Carson Fulmer - Carson made nice strides this year. Like Alex Reyes, he is starting to show his strikeout potential - and also shares the same concern about relying on said strikeouts to get through games. That might fly in AAA, but it will be tougher in the majors. Age is also something of a concern. Carson's 23 and still needing to put it together. That means he'll need to have another very solid year to really keep the trajectory going.

8. SP Kodi Medeiros - Kodi has been given a couple years of passes. Last year, he had the season-ending injury. This year, he used the "bad luck" pass. He might want to start putting things together in 2018. The scouts like him and organization wants to be patient with him, but it would be nice to see some results to soothe some concerns. Big arm? Check. Nasty movement? Check. Time to add results to the checklist.

9. SP Ken Kojima - If Reyes and Fulmer rely too much on K's, Kojima relies too much on avoiding walks. He still needs to learn that there's a difference between inducing chases and risking walks. He pounds the zone too much, sacrificing location in the zone. He'll need to correct that, or his stock may well start to fall.

10. 1B Josh Bell - It seems likely that Josh will see major league time next season. There's no one blocking his way to the big league bench and the ability to play RF in a pinch will be a positive in his favor. Josh seems to be a decent hitter, perhaps not as good as hoped, but there's no reason he shouldn't be serviceable. Scouts still think he might be a late bloomer. Perhaps getting major league action will speed his learning.

Honorable Mention: C Taylor Stephenson, SS Lucius Fox, 3B Lou Urbina, OF Yusniel Diaz

Rumor Mill

Miguel Sano is losing support, according to unnamed team sources. The drastic fall his production took this season really has the front office questioning just what they have in him. Was it just a bad season? Is this closer to what to expect?

The allure of Buxton/DeShields/Smith has captivated some in the organization, and those folks are evidently lobbying for that trio to happen with Hernandez sharing the "supersub" role with Bonifacio.

Sano is certainly an easy target. It would do the least to the lineup, improve the defense, and the offense should be able to pick up the slack.

Pitching is still something of a concern, though the "wait for Oz-Rod" is keeping things on that front on hold.

[J_smith2190]

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

End of May / draft results should be up within two days at this rate!

[KBLover]

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

Red Sox Defeat Angels to
Face Pale Hose in ALDS

The Red Sox moved on with a 7-1 victory in Anaheim to get into the "real" postseason bracket. They will face the Chicago White Sox on the road in the ALDS.

Early on, it looked like this might not go the Red Sox's way. Sale looked to have some early game jitters to start things off. All told, he was fortunate to escape the first inning with just one run allowed. He gave up 2 hits and 2 walks, with one hit being a double that scored the one run. It may have been two, but Buxton relayed the ball back in to force the Angels to hold the second runner.

The next half inning, the top 2nd, Russell hit a 2-run HR that seemed to settle the whole team down.

Sale started a run that would see him retire 14 consecutive batters before leaving with just that 1 run allowed. The Red Sox offense pecked away at Iwakuma, the Angels' starter, picking up 5 runs before a Gallo solo bomb chased Iwakuma to the showers.

The Angels bullpen held the Sox at 5 until Piscotty delivered a 2 run double to right center that was the final nail in the coffin. Sox went up 7-1, which was the final score.

[NDAlum]

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



Houston Astros Fantasy Draft Franchise Setup
- The Astros GM J.K. Stewart will be allotted six draft selections and the rest of the draft will be completed at the mercy of the simulation engine.
- In the 6 picks I can only take a max of 4 pitcher or positional players
- 3 of the 6 picks must be 26 or older
- Budgets will be turned off but I will adhere to whatever my proposed budget is

Houston Astros Fantasy Draft Results (Pick #17/14)
- Round 1 selection: LF Kris Bryant
- Round 2 selection: RF Giancarlo Stanton
- Round 3 selection: 1B Eric Hosmer
- Round 4 selection: LF Nomar Mazara
- Round 5 selection: SP Vince Velasquez
- Round 6 selection: SP Chris Tillman

GM J.K. Stewart Fantasy Draft Reports
On Kris Bryant
I really felt as though this was the best player on the board. He's got years of team control and with a hitter's park with a short LF porch we saw big power numbers coming from Bryant. He's 24 with an 80 power bat and can hit for average and play defense well.

On Giancarlo Stanton
This pick was originally slated to be a starting pitcher but after looking at Stanton I just couldn't resist. The thought of Bryant/Stanton crushing balls over the tracks at Minute Maid Park overtook my thoughts and I made the decision to go hitter heavy early and snag the 26-year old stud. I definitely worry about his durability but he's a specimen and we might try to utilize him at DH a good amount based on some later picks.

On Eric Hosmer
Once again I wanted to go pitcher but I saw the 26-year old 1B sitting there in the player pool and couldn't pass him up. He's an excellent defensive 1B with a career .280 average and he seems to get better every year.

On Nomar Mazara
I just couldn't pass up a 20-year old A POT player with an all-around game at this level. The direction of this team was clear at this point: power hitting club with good athleticism in a small ball park.

On Vince Velasquez
Finally went pitcher here and picked up my last sub 25 year old player with Velasquez (23). He projects to be a future #1 SP with a great arm and a knack of picking up punch outs.

On Chris Tillman
I feel like we got a steal in the 6th round as Tillman is a veteran (27) and is an inning eater who can hold down the #1 SP role until the Velasquez is ready to take over.


Next post...

The CPU AI selections...

[NDAlum]

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





GM J.K. Stewart CPU AI Draft Impressions
I'm extremely happy with how the CPU drafted for the organization. The team definitely took shape as a power hitting club which I am salivating over with Minute Maid Park. The CPU selections of CF Joc Pederson and SS Trevor Story appear nice on paper but we'll have to see how they both progress. We're almost too one-sided and look like we might rely on the long ball with the offense that was put together. Hopefully 2B Josh Harrison can be an OBP machine and get back to his .300+ average days. Danny Valencia was a nice surprise pickup and his ratings are very solid.

The pitching side of things has some upside but it's also an area I think we're going to hit rough patches. The bullpen is probably the worst rated in baseball and our closer, Shae Simmons, has one career save. I think SP's Matt Cain and Mike Leake can give us some quality starts and picking up Luis Severino and his high ceiling really put this draft over the top for me. I don't see us being a dominant pitching staff by any means, but I think we'll score runs and all we need is for the staff to keep us close.

In the minors we have a pair of two blue chip guys in SP Aaron Blair and CF Anthony Alford. The pitching prospects aren't amazing but they project to be contributors at the MLB level. I really like the bullpen guys we have and it's nice to see that several aren't too far away from the big league club.

Here's my team ranking and it's exactly what you would expect outside of defense. I really thought that would be higher. It also spoils my first two games played!

[Frostball]

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

GM J.K. Stewart CPU AI Draft Impressions
I'm extremely happy with how the CPU drafted for the organization. The team definitely took shape as a power hitting club which I am salivating over with Minute Maid Park. The CPU selections of CF Joc Pederson and SS Trevor Story appear nice on paper but we'll have to see how they both progress. We're almost too one-sided and look like we might rely on the long ball with the offense that was put together. Hopefully 2B Josh Harrison can be an OBP machine and get back to his .300+ average days. Danny Valencia was a nice surprise pickup and his ratings are very solid.

The pitching side of things has some upside but it's also an area I think we're going to hit rough patches. The bullpen is probably the worst rated in baseball and our closer, Shae Simmons, has one career save. I think SP's Matt Cain and Mike Leake can give us some quality starts and picking up Luis Severino and his high ceiling really put this draft over the top for me. I don't see us being a dominant pitching staff by any means, but I think we'll score runs and all we need is for the staff to keep us close.

In the minors we have a pair of two blue chip guys in SP Aaron Blair and CF Anthony Alford. The pitching prospects aren't amazing but they project to be contributors at the MLB level. I really like the bullpen guys we have and it's nice to see that several aren't too far away from the big league club.

Here's my team ranking and it's exactly what you would expect outside of defense. I really thought that would be higher. It also spoils my first two games played!

Nice draft like the rules you put in place for yourself for drafting can't wait to see how it goes

[KBLover]

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

Red Sox Rally to Win
4-run 8th Snatches Victory from Defeat, 6-5.

Johnny Cueto had it going on. The Red Sox could do little to solve him and managed only a couple runs through 6 innings, one of them being a Russell RBI single, and the other a Joey Gallo RBI single.

The left Boston down 5-2. Maeda, Boston's starter, was long gone by this point, leaving veteran Mark Buehrle to hold the fort, and he did beautifully.

In the 8th, the ChiSox turned to Salas to try to bridge the gap to Kimbrel in the 9th.

Schwarber set the tone by hitting a towering 370-foot home run to start the inning. 5-3.

Russell walked and Smith singled and both runners advanced a base on an error in CF. Audry Perez smacked a ground ball single to the right past a diving Brandon Phillips to score both men. 5-5 tie game.

ChiSox moved to Belisle to try to hold the one run lead. Piscotty hit a double and slow-as-heck Perez had to hold at 3rd. Then, perhaps the move that Chicagoans will second guess all night...they walked Buxton to load the bases for Joey Gallo. The GIDP was obviously what they were going for, but Gallo got a high curveball that might have been actually TOO high. Gallo still lifted it very deep to left center field. Perez needed every foot of that deep drive as he lumbered home to give the Sox a 6-5 lead.

Chapman came in for the 8th and shut the door. He looked so good that Farrell rolled with Chapman for the 9th with Herrera ready if any trouble brewed. But there was no trouble. Champan set down 6 of the 7 men he faced with 4 Ks and picked up the save and Boston's 1-0 lead in the ALDS.

[Sumodeads]

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

Quick update on my Padres Franchise. We are through May 23rd and have the best record in baseball at 33-13(White Sox are 32-15). The rest of my division is playing very mediocre with the Dbacks and Giants tied at 23-24 and the Dodgers and Rockies have the two worst records in baseball. We do have a 19-6 record within the division, but that means those teams are playing terrible vs everyone else too.

A few player notes

After his historic start to the season(10 HR in 11 games) Jay Bruce had cooled off by the middle of April and ended with 2 HR in the final 13 games. Then on the very first day of May he was hit in the head on a routine fly ball and has been on the DL ever since. He is slated to come back in the next few days. Even with missing the last 21 games, he is still tied for 6th in the NL in HR and tied for 9th in RBI. The rest of the lineup has stepped up in his absence and we are still one of this best HR hitting teams in the league(currently 4th in MLB). With the extra playing time, Ichiro is now 39 hits away from 3000.

Danny Salazar is absolutely filthy. Not even sure how you can snatch this guy up in the 3rd round. His last 3 starts he has gone 26.0 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 15 H, 30 K, 1 BB. He actually lost one of those starts 1-0 going the distance and just allowing 1 unearned run. That was his first loss of the season as he is sitting at 8-1.

After a poor Start to the season, Rookie Sensation Julio Urias has really turned it around in his last 3 starts. In those starts he is 3-0 with 21.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 19 H, 18 K, 1 BB. His last time out he had his first career complete game and it was also his first career shutout!

Mike Trout continues to kill it. He is near the top of the leader board in almost every offensive category and currently leads MLB with a 2.96 WAR.

Chris Davis is having a prototypical Slugger year. Leads my team in HR, RBI, BB and is 2nd in Ks(Javier Baez). He also has one of the low BA of .232. The coaches have no problem overlooking that though when through 46 games he has slugged 15 HR(t-2nd NL) and driven in 44 RBI(1st in NL). Last game at AT&T Park he crushed 2 HR. The first one was a 475 ft BOMB to Right Center that looked like it left the building(I couldn't even find it on the replay). The second one was to dead right on a hanging breaking ball from a LH reliever that was heading for The water and hit high up off a light pole and bounced back in. I love having his power in the middle of the lineup.

I'll do a full update on player stats when we finish up May. Should be sometime tomorrow!