MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

[BlueJays09]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Just about to move past the deadline in my Blue Jays franchise. I have managed to right the ship in July and now sit 2 games back of the Red Sox for first in the division. The Yankees are 2 games behind me. I am 3.5 ahead of the Wild Card race. Therefore, I decided not to sell. If I don’t do well this year I’ll go for a full rebuild for next year.

Didn’t do much at the trade deadline as I didn’t have many glaring holes. Granderson was DFA’d as he wasn’t playing much and when he was, wasn’t doing anything special. Hernandez has solidified a regular spot in the lineup, as has Grichuk who has hit 22 homers so far this year with a .240 batting average. Sent him to Miami for lottery ticket Tyler Kolek. The Marlins are 5 games out of the wild card and have a need in the OF due to injuries.

The other deal we made, was sending Justin Maese to the Padres for Ross. My fifth starter was a black hole all year, swallowing Biagini and Garcia who are both in AAA to fine tune. Ross has a 4.50 ERA and is hoping to provide some stability to the back end of the rotation for the rest of the year.

Time to see what happens in August and September. We are likely to call up Vlad in September!



Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Number999]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Miami Marlins ~ 2018 MLB Regular Season Review

Regular Season(April/May): The Miami Marlins organization and fanbase each knew that this upcoming season was likely to be a difficult one. But similar to ripping off a bandaid, the process must be done in order to have the hopeful outlook of a better and brighter future. To start things off, the Marlins weren't doing too poorly. Alright, they finished the first month of April with a record of 11-17 but still that's not too terrible all things considered. Many thought this would be one of the worst baseball teams of All-Time ala the Astros back before they made their huge turnaround. Derek Dietrich and Justin Bour were raking out of the gate that 1st month, Lewis Brinson showed some flashes of brilliance, and the likes of Wei-Yen Chen and Caleb Smith were showing admirable starter numbers. Holding the Marlins back from being .500 though were dreadful performances by Jose Ureña as well as Starlin Castro and JT Realmuto being hugely under-whelming. It appeared as though things finally hit rock bottom as at the start of May, the Marlins went 2-13 and you thought oh hey... this was expected. But then, Justin Bour hit a walk-off homer against Pedro Baez and the LA Dodgers to snap a 9-game losing streak. To finish out the month, the Marlins went 10-3 and had a 23-33 record. Not good, but not horrendous. Cameron Maybin was hitting above .300, Chen/Smith kept pitching well, Brinson was in the .240's range, and there was optimism at the 2018 MLB Draft.

2018 MLB Draft: At the draft, the Miami Marlins were selecting at Pick #13 in the 1st Round. The front office led by Derek Jeter and Michael Hill were deeply conflicted on who to go with. They were torn between 2B Omar Canon and 3B Tom Brock. The benefits of Canon being that he was 2 years younger and only 19 as well as being quicker than Brock, but Brock had better power and was more developed at the plate though he was 21-years old. Ultimately, Jeter went with the Domincan 2nd baseman and fortunatly that decision paid off! In the Competitive Balance A Round, at Pick #6, the Marlins were able to then select 3B Tom Brock! From then on in Round #3 they selected SP Jim Frazier, in Round #4 SP Charley Parnell, in Round #5 2B Bob Yu, in Round #6 CF Daisuke Sasaki, and finally in Round #7 RP Andres Armas. Overall many believe it was an outstanding draft from Miami, especially those first 4 picks. Based on how weak the current lineup is, some of those guys may get the opportunity to start as soon as next season. In terms of the biggest names that may come back to haunt the Marlins, they include 1B BJ Hathaway and SP Jack Noonan. But hopefully all of these guys can have successful careers and we won't be too broken up about it.

Marlins Make Tanking Moves, Trades: With a 26-40 record now, the Marlins decide they are not doing poorly enough to guarantee an awful pick. Hell, a quick run of winning 5 out of 8 games or something similar could dreadfully stick them with a pick in the #4-#8 range if they weren't careful. They wanted to be awful and build for the future, and the first way they went about that was trading 30-year old right fielder Cameron Maybin. Maybin was dealt to the 35-30 Colorado Rockies. These were his stats during his time in Miami. 54 games, 7 HRs, 26 RBIs, 17 SBs, .302 AVG, .375 OBP, .854 OPS, and 1.6 WAR. It's hell of an addition for a Rockies team seeking to make a push for the playoffs as a Wild Card, and Maybin provides a great starter in the outfield wherever needed, even ahead of Carlos Gonzalez. In exchange, the Marlins received 3B Tyler Nevin and SP Peter Lambert. They're each B-tier prospects but considering Maybin was signed on a 1-year deal in the offseason he'll make an admirable acquisition for them. Remember even if those guys don't turn out to be anything, the deal still makes sense for Miami since their idea is to get worse and Maybin is not in their long-term plans. In his replacement, 24-year old outfielder Braxton Lee was called up and will replace Maybin in the starting lineup. Not much is expected of Lee since he has never been considered a top prospect but perhaps he could make noise with his new role.

With the month of June wrapping up, Miami now has a record of 32-49. They decide to make a second trade taking advantage of a player having a hot season for them. 32-year old starting pitcher, Wei-Yen Chen. They decide to send him to the 46-35 Los Angeles Angels who are looking to win the AL West and make a push in an effort to keep superstar Mike Trout happy. They haven't been the most successful organization under his tenure but it has been in no-part due to him, as he has performed at a Hall of Fame level since Day 1. The reason the Angels went after him? Need some starting pitching help. Andrew Heaney has a 4.56 ERA, Shohei Ohtani has a 4.45 ERA, and Garrett Richards has a 4.16 ERA. By comparison, look at the numbers Wei-Yen Chen has produced. 19 games, 3-7, 113.1 innings, 28 BBs, 88 Ks, 2.94 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 2.3 WAR. He has been quite solid, and given the fact the Marlins had him on the books for another 2 years they get to dump his salary to a team that can afford it and use him well. In exchange, they received 20-year old 2B prospect Jahmai Jones. Whether the Georgia native can rise up the ranks quickly enough and compete with 1st Round Pick Omar Cannon will be up to him. Replacing Wei-Yen Chen in the lineup will be top pitching prospect and 22-year old Dominican Sandy Alcantara! Alcantara spent the first half of the season in the minors refining his game but the Marlins feel he is now ready to show off what he can do.

Things got worse for Miami. Alcantara did not look very good in his first few starts, but things around the team got worse. They had a 33-51 record at the end of June, and had produced an MLB-worst 257 runs up to that point. Their pitching was the only thing keeping them afloat. Outfield prospect Magneuris Sierra torn his MCL and would miss many months and the remainder of the season. The Marlins had a deal on the table from the Toronto Blue Jays for Starlin Castro, but given how low his value was and the need to retain cap the Marlins declined, but of course Castro fractured his wrist and would be out 2-3 months with the injury. Brian Anderson replaced him and JT Riddle was called up from the minors. With a 41-62 record, the Marlins decided to reward a veteran who displayed nothing but sportsmanship and professionalism in 3B Martin Prado. The 34-year old had these stats as the Trade Deadline neared. 99 games, 4 HRs, 28 RBIs, 6 SBs, .292 AVG, .344 OBP, .705 OPS only good for 0.1 WAR but that was because he was bad earlier in the year. The Marlins traded him to the 58-44 Seattle Mariners who are looking to finally get back to the playoffs. He'll provide a fantastic locker-room presence and can still smash against righties. In exchange, the Marlins received 24-year old relief pitcher Art Warren. Based on how awful the bullpen has been for Miami, he may be up here with the major league roster for next season. In Prado's replacement, Don Mattingly called up 3B Eric Jagielo who is a 25-year old and Triple AAA All-Star this year for the Fish, but he won't likely do much at the pro level other than be just another guy.

After this point, it was about reaching the finishing line. The end of July saw the Fish fall to 42-67, and the end of August they were met with a 50-85 record. Overall, the Miami Marlins finished the 2018 MLB Regular Season with a 60-102 record. It's the 2nd worst season ever in Marlins history, only out-done by the awful 108-loss season in 1998 following the 1997 World Series Championship. Miami were awful this year. They couldn't hit for anything, and many of their top prospects didn't perform as well as they'd like. Quite possibly worst of all, they didn't clinch the #1 overall pick as they were out-tanked by the Chicago White Sox who finished an abysmal 55-107. Still, the 2nd pick shouldn't be too bad to choose from(as long as we don't take Tyler Kolek over Carlos Rondon again) It's now time to lay out our statistics from this season... it's not gonna be very pretty.

2018 Miami Marlins Roster & Stats Overlook
Starting Pitchers:
#1. Dan Straily (29, 75 OVR) --------> 5-18, 178 innings, 76 BBs, 146 Ks, 4.80 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 1.0 WAR
#2. Jarlin Garcia (25, 79 OVR) -------> 4-12, 165.2 innings, 65 BBs, 139 Ks, 3.86 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 2.8 WAR
#3. Caleb Smith (26, 72 OVR) -------> 10-13, 162.2 innings, 76 BBs, 143 Ks, 3.32 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 2.7 WAR
#4. Jose Ureña (26, 71 OVR) --------> 7-14, 161.2 innings, 66 BBs, 103 Ks, 3.95 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 1.7 WAR
#5. Sandy Alcantara (22. 73 OVR) --> 5-6, 88.1 innings, 31 BBs, 90 Ks, 4.48 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 1.8 WAR

Summary: As stated earlier, the pitching was the one reason the Miami Marlins weren't awful and won beyond 50 games. They honestly weren't completely horrific. Dan Straily wasn't exactly Ace material, especially following his 2017 season but he gave you some innings. The Marlins have him on arbitration for one more year and then he becomes a free agent, so certainly a prime candidate to be traded. Jarlin Garcia in his first main season starting produced in many regards, and he provides a great lefty option, but now it's time for the Fish to figure whether out he's a typical #4 or #5 starter or more based on how he does next season. Got 3 years of arbitration on him after this season so plenty of time to decide. Caleb Smith for a huge part of the 1st half of the season was pitching like a genuine Ace, then he regressed back down to Earth because of course, he's Caleb Smith. He was just 0.1 WAR shy of having the best WAR in the entire pitching staff and regardless he has the best ERA. Can he replicate this or is it an aberration? Ureña finished the season strong after struggling for a huge part of the season. His ERA managed to fall behind the 4.00 mark, and he actually reversed his record from last year at 14-7 with a 7-14 campaign this year. We'll keep an eye on him. Finally, Sandy Alcantara. He actually got hot towards the end of the season and honestly his K/9 innings is quite exceptional. It was his first real dip in the water at the Major League level, he'll have plenty of opportunities to improve and hopefully he blossoms into a Top 3 starter.

Bullpen:
RHP: Odrisamer Despaigne (30, 65 OVR) --> 5-4, 121 innings, 47 BBs, 43 Ks, 3.71 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, -0.8 WAR
RHP: Drew Steckenrider (27, 79 OVR) -----> 9-4, 112.2 innings, 68 BBs, 139 Ks, 4.31 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 1.2 WAR
RHP: Junichi Tazawa (31, 68 OVR) ---------> 1-4, 103.2 innings, 42 BBs, 80 Ks, 4.34 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, -1.0 WAR
RHP: Jumbo Diaz (34, 70 OVR) -------------> 4-8, 89 innings, 39 BBs, 88 Ks, 4.96 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 0.9 WAR
RHP: Nick Wittgren (26, 74 OVR) -----------> 3-6, 65.2 innings, 22 BBs, 49 Ks, 3.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 0.1 WAR
RHP: Brad Ziegler (38, 70 OVR) ------------> 4-3, 33 innings, 14 BBs, 21 Ks, 4.64 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, -0.3 WAR
CP: Kyle Barraclough (27, 82 OVR) --------> 0-3, 53 innings, 46 BBs, 66 Ks, 3.06 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 0.4 WAR

Summary: The bullpen for the Marlins this year left plenty to be desired. It can be said without much pushback that Jeter and the rest of the front office never made any real effort to put together a quality bullpen and rather scraped together whatever crap veterans were leftover. Despaigne has no business being here long-term and he won't be with the side next season. Drew Steckenrider was one guy that he Marlins hoped would do good, he started well, but finished poorly. Still he was comfortably our best reliever and our youngest so he'll definitely be back for next season. Junichi Tazawa was utter *** and an awful 2-year signing... these are the sorts of deals that forced Derek Jeter to blow up the team. Jumbo Diaz surprisingly had a far higher WAR than I expected, but he's also not a veteran worth keeping around especially as he'll be 35 as next season gets along. Nick Wittgren was somebody Miami hoped would produce but he did nothing special. Brad Ziegler was a disaster and allowed a walk-off homer against Yoenis Cesepdes in the final game of our season, so we won't ever be seeing him again. Finally you have Kyle Barraclough who collected 32 saves in a closer role, he's okay. The Marlins looked to trade him but never found adequate value. They're better off just holding onto him then dumping him for C-quality tier prospects. But now, it's time to get on to the real disaster of this season... the hitting.

Lineup:
C: J.T. Realmuto (27, 83 OVR) ----> 156 games, 20 HR, 69 RBI, 9 SB, .288 AVG, .340 OBP, .824 OPS, 5.4 WAR
1B: Justin Bour (29, 77 OVR) -----> 150 games, 26 HR, 76 RBI, 6 SB, .268 AVG, .344 OBP, .813 OPS, 1.8 WAR
2B: Starlin Castro (28, 82 OVR) ---> 107 games, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 2 SB, .243 AVG, .284 OBP, .628 OPS, 0.4 WAR
SS: Miguel Rojas (29, 69 OVR) ----> 156 games, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 8 SB, .244 AVG, .317 OBP, .633 OPS, -1.4 WAR
3B: Brian Anderson (24, 70 OVR) -> 125 games, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 4 SB, .256 AVG, .294 OBP, .680 OPS, 1.2 WAR
LF: Derek Dietrich (28, 70 OVR) --> 147 games, 14 HR, 54 RBI, 1 SB, .246 AVG, .315 OBP, .693 OPS, 0.7 WAR
CF: Lewis Brinson (23, 72 OVR) --> 143 games, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 31 SB, .228 AVG, .271 OBP, .586 OPS, -0.7 WAR
RF: Braxton Lee (24, 69 OVR) ----> 78 games, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 19 SB, .329 AVG, .348 OBP, .769 OPS, 2.2 WAR

Bench:
C: Tomas Telis (26, 65 OVR) ------> 36 games, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB, .245 AVG, .327 OBP, .735 OPS, 1.0 WAR
1B: Garrett Cooper (27, 64 OVR) -> 99 games, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 1 SB, .195 AVG, .232 OBP, .526 OPS, -2.2 WAR
2B: Yadiel Rivera (25, 70 OVR) ---> 85 games, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 6 SB, .182 AVG, .263 OBP, .531 OPS, -0.8 WAR
SS: J.T. Riddle (26, 67 OVR) ------> 55 games, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .215 AVG, .267 OBP, .533 OPS, -0.4 WAR
3B: Eric Jagielo (25, 61 OVR) -----> 34 games, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .275 AVG, .324 OBP, .716 OPS, 0.2 WAR
RF: J.B. Shuck (30, 60 OVR) ------> 81 games, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 6 SB, .223 AVG, .283 OBP, .592 OPS, -0.2 WAR

Summary: Let us begin at the very top with our seasons MVP. JT Realmuto. Take a bow, son. The 27-year old initially didn't want to be here, but instead of whining and complaining, he put his head down and went to work. That many games from a catcher is especially impressive. To produce a 20 home run season, bat near .290, and have over .800 OPS combined with the fact he led the team in WAR at over 5.4 that is just sensational. We will try to do him right and find a suitable trade partner so he can go be a beast on a contender, but if we don't get the right offer we're perfectly fine having one of the best catchers in baseball play for us. Over at 1st base, Justin Bour also had an extremely solid season. He led the team in home runs and runs batted in. Miami never saw a great deal to move Bour but he's a power hitting 1st baseman who hits from the leftside, there's certainly value and we'll see if he's coveted this offseason. At 2nd base, we had Starlin Castro who missed a hefty chunk of game-time with an injury. He was not good this season, and he'll be apart of this squad for the next 2 years if he can't be moved. Over at shortstop, Miguel Rojas is not a MLB starter. He simply isn't. This season proved it. We had no superior options, and that's why you got what you got. Finally to round out the infield you had Brian Anderson who took over the starting role once Martin Prado got traded. He was.... adequate. Yeah, adequate. Nothing special but if he can provide .270 AVG next season and knock out a few more dingers, he's starter quality until some of our big names of the future get called up.

Now we turn our heads to the outfield. First of all, Derek Dietrich. Dietrich like many others did not really produce a the level we would have liked, and that comes with an outstanding April he had. His batting average fell off a cliff and to see a guy with his power not even crack .700 OPS is concerning. We'll see if he ends up being a starter next season. In center field, it's the guy I've been waiting to talk about, Lewis Brinson. The expectations were sky-high for the 24-year old as he was the centerpiece and key factor in the Christian Yelich-to-Milwaukee deal happening. How did he perform!?!? Agh, negative WAR is never good. He lacked to show the power we were promised and some wonder if that will ever come now. He did steal 31 bases which is the 4th best in all of MLB, but that came with Mattingly always telling him to run and he got caught stealing plenty, so it's fair to wonder how much he'll steal in the future. That batting average is the worst in the starting lineup, as is that on base percentage. It's not exactly promising and I can't deny that but... HE'S YOUNG. IT WAS HIS 1ST SEASON. GIVE HIM TIME. That's all I can really say... give him time, and if he busts, we can move on to Monte Harrison!!? But just as one rookie outfielder under-whelmed and disappointed us, can we talk about Braxton Lee for a second? This guy came out of NOWHERE. Called up to replace Cameron Maybin, and he was straight up dominant. A .329 batting average in half a season? How about those 19 stolen bases? He had the 2nd best WAR of any position player on the entire team in half the period of time! Who knows if this was just a fluke and he got hot ala Chris Coghlan but Lee has vaulted himself into starter contention with how he performed after getting called up.

Finally, the bench. It was awful. The only two who didn't totally suck were Tomas Telis and Eric Jagielo. In fact, it's kind of insane that Telis produced as well as he did. Miami had the 2nd worst record in baseball this season yet they may have one of the best catching situations of anybody in the league. Garrett Cooper won't be on the team next year. He had to play because we had no other option. Yadiel Rivera brought some speed but he was awful at the plate and has no business in the majors. JT Riddle as an injury all-up did nothing to suggest he should stay up here, and as mentioned maybe Jagielo can serve as a back-up role but with how ready Tom Brock is, that may even be put into question. JB Shuck as a 30-year old will not even be allowed near the facility. Get the hell out of the way for our youngsters we have coming up the ranks.

There you have it, the 2018 Miami Marlins Season in a nutshell. Now it's time for the fun offseason.

2018 MLB Standings

Spoiler

NL East:
#1. Z-Washington Nationals (98-64)
#2. Z-Philadelphia Phillies (98-64)
#3. New York Mets (75-87)
#4. Atlanta Braves (74-88)
#5. Miami Marlins (60-102)

NL Central:
#1. x-Chicago Cubs (96-66)
#2. Milwaukee Brewers (89-73)
#3. Pittsburgh Pirates (77-85)
#4. Cincinnati Reds (74-88)
#5. St. Louis Cardinals (74-88)

NL East:
#1. x-Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64)
#2. x-San Francisco Giants (92-70)
#3. Colorado Rockies (80-82)
#4. Arizona Diamondbacks (75-87)
#5. San Diego Padres (68-94)

AL East:
#1. x-New York Yankees (105-57)
#2. y-Toronto Blue Jays (89-73)
#3. Boston Red Sox (88-74)
#4. Baltimore Orioles (77-85)
#5. Tampa Bay Rays (69-93)

AL Central:
#1. x-Cleveland Indians (83-79)
#2. Minnesota Twins (80-82)
#3. Kansas City Royals (75-87)
#4. Detroit Tigers (70-92)
#5. Chicago White Sox (55-107)

AL West:
#1. x-Los Angeles Angels (95-67)
#2. y-Seattle Mariners (89-73)
#3. Houston Astros (85-77)
#4. Oakland Athletics (74-88)
#5. Texas Rangers (68-94)

2018 MLB Awards

Spoiler

MVP
NL: Max Scherzer (97 OVR, 19-7, 2.36 ERA, 271 strikeouts, Nationals)
AL: David Price (90 OVR, 22-5, 2.14 ERA, 205 strikeouts, Red Sox)

Cy Young
NL: Max Scherzer (97 OVR, 19-7, 2.36 ERA, 271 strikeouts, Nationals)
AL: David Price (90 OVR, 22-5, 2.14 ERA, 205 strikeouts, Red Sox)

Batting Title
NL: Nolan Arenado (97 OVR, .341 AVG, 35 HR, 111 RBI, Rockies)
AL: Mookie Betts (92 OVR, .335 AVG, 34 HR, 96 RBI, Red Sox)

Reliever of the Year Award
NL: Kenley Jansen (99 OVR, 53 saves, 1.84 ERA, 62 strikeouts, Dodgers)
AL: Alex Colome (84 OVR, 43 saves, 1.64 ERA, 41 strikeouts, Rays)

Rookie of the Year
NL: Scott Kingery (84 OVR, .270 AVG, 19 HR, 79 RBI, Phillies)
AL: Shohei Ohtani (89 OVR, 17-5, 4.31 ERA, 176 strikeouts, Angels)

Hank Aaron Award
NL: Bryce Harper (98 OVR, .319 AVG, 41 HR, 115 RBI, Nationals)
AL: Mookie Betts (92 OVR, .335 AVG, 34 HR, 96 RBI, Red Sox)

Gold Glove
NL: Steven Matz (79 OVR, Mets), JT Realmuto (83 OVR, Marlins), Lucas Duda (78 OVR, Nationals), Javier Baez (90 OVR, Cubs), Nolan Arenado (97 OVR, Rockies), Brandon Crawford (83 OVR, Giants), Ronald Acuna Jr. (86 OVR, Braves), Michael Conforto (77 OVR, Mets), Bryce Harper (98, Nationals)

AL: Alex Cobb (75 OVR, Orioles), Gary Sanchez (88 OVR, Yankees), Justin Smoak (83 OVR, Blue Jays), Jonathon Schoop (87 OVR, Orioles), Kyle Seager (84 OVR, Mariners), Manny Machado (94 OVR, Orioles), JD Martinez (91 OVR, Red Sox), Kevin Pillar (80 OVR, Blue Jays), Mookie Betts (92 OVR, Red Sox)

Silver Slugger
NL: Clayton Kershaw (99 OVR, Dodgers), JT Realmuto (83 OVR, Marlins), Carlos Santana (83 OVR, Phillies), Ozzie Albies (93 OVR, Braves), Nolan Arenado (97 OVR, Rockies), Paul DeJong (82 OVR, Cardinals), Bryce Harper (98 OVR, Nationals), Rhys Hoskins (90 OVR, Phillies), Christian Yelich (90 OVR, Brewers)

AL: Justin Upton (87 OVR, Angels), Mike Zunino (83 OVR, Mariners), Ronald Guzman (81 OVR, Rangers), Brian Dozier (91 OVR, Twins), Mike Moustakas (87 OVR, Royals), Manny Machado (94 OVR, Orioles), Aaron Judge (93 OVR, Yankees), Giancarlo Stanton (97 OVR, Yankees), Mookie Betts (92 OVR, Red Sox)

[alston4659]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Just wondering what you guys do in your franchise as far as playing games? With there being 162 games or whatever, I find its gonna be hard to even get through an entire season if you play every single game. Once Madden comes out I'm sure my MLB playing days will slow down but I'm trying to rebuild this Padres team and I'm hoping to see the fruits of that labor in future seasons. So what I do is play like 2 games of a series and sim the final two with Hope's that I can move through seasons pretty quickly. So I was wondering if any of you guys do anything similar as far as moving through your seasons?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Well after the Rays dealt Chris Archer to the Reds for Eugenio Suarez and Nick Senzal, they just made a blockbuster deal with the Indians:

Rays Get:

SP Corey Kluber
CF Abraham Almonte

Indians Get:

CF Kevin Kiermaier


July craziness!!!

[ktd1976]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Just wondering what you guys do in your franchise as far as playing games? With there being 162 games or whatever, I find its gonna be hard to even get through an entire season if you play every single game. Once Madden comes out I'm sure my MLB playing days will slow down but I'm trying to rebuild this Padres team and I'm hoping to see the fruits of that labor in future seasons. So what I do is play like 2 games of a series and sim the final two with Hope's that I can move through seasons pretty quickly. So I was wondering if any of you guys do anything similar as far as moving through your seasons?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

I know I'm in the minority, but I play every at bat of every game.

Currently 120 games into my Tigers franchise....

[Number999]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Just wondering what you guys do in your franchise as far as playing games? With there being 162 games or whatever, I find its gonna be hard to even get through an entire season if you play every single game. Once Madden comes out I'm sure my MLB playing days will slow down but I'm trying to rebuild this Padres team and I'm hoping to see the fruits of that labor in future seasons. So what I do is play like 2 games of a series and sim the final two with Hope's that I can move through seasons pretty quickly. So I was wondering if any of you guys do anything similar as far as moving through your seasons?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

For the regular season, I almost never play a full game. Personally, I use a crap ton of quick managing and always get in a few at-bats or a few innings with players I prefer and am planning on keeping long-term. Sometimes I'll jump in on critical situations as well. For me some of the biggest fun of franchise mode, and I presume this applies to you since you're a Padres fan, is having your team rebuilt and become a dynasty of the future. Maybe even see that dynasty close if you're committed enough. You can't do that if you play every game or really play every other game if you don't wanna get burnt out. Playoffs is different tho since every game has it's own storyline and fun.

[HozAndMoose]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

All Star Break - 2022

Making the change at Manager and Hitting Coach has payed off so far. Still under .500 at 46-52. But we are 25-17 since the change and the offense has been much better. We were averagine 3.7 runs per game before the change. That has jumped to 4.6 after. We are 13.5 games back of the division leading Tigers. And 5.5 games out of a WC spot. The Dodgers have the best record at 61-35. Pirates are the worst at 40-58. The Tigers and A's both lead their division after finishing in 5th last year.

Standings

Spoiler

New Hitting Coach Gary Inaba hashad a noticeable impact on the team so far. We are now hitting .249/.323/.400 up from .241/.312/.383. We have scored 4.6 runs per game since the beginning of June. up from 3.5 per game in April and May. We have 404 Runs (16th), 166 Doubles (12th), 15 Triples (21st), 106 HR (14th), 35s Walks (7th), 731 Strikeouts (3rd), 63 SB (16th) and a .692 SB% (12th).

Stats

Spoiler

Jorge Soler has been crushing the ball lately. On pace to set a career high in HR and WAR. Looking like a good decision to give him a 5 year contract over the off season. Salvy was hitting .313 on July 3rd. Has been pretty cold since then. On pace to hit 25+ HR for the 4th straight year. And has yet to commit an error. His last error came in 2020 (219+ games). Ryan O'Hearn and Nick Pratto have looked like completely different players. Pratto was hitting .227/.299/.381 while Ryan O'Hearn was hitting .217/.316/.373. O'Hearn has raised his OPS by 107 points while Pratto has added 82 to his. If we can get 1st half O'Hearn in the 2nd half this year we might be able to sneak into the playoffs. Jim Albrecht is one of the few guys not benefiting from the change at hitting coach. Line has dropped from .306/.392/.468 and has just 1 HR over the last 42 games. Only had 3 in the 56 before that though so it isnt a huge drop. Myles Evans got sent to AAA for about 10 day to try and get some confidence back. Has worked a bit but its gonna take awhile to get that line to not look like ***.


The pitching saw the offense getting better and followed suit. We have dropped our ERA from 4.22 to 3.92 (15th). We have 5 shutouts (23rd), 113 HR allowed (20th), 290 Walks allowed (5th) and 742 Strikeouts (26th).

Stats

Spoiler

Jake Junis has been our best starter so far. Finally starting to look like the solid 2 or 3 we hoped he would turn into. Better late than never. Giving Duffy a 3 year deal may have been a bad move. He isnt terrible and his is FIP is just under 4 so he is getting a bit unlucky. But he is starting to decline and its happening pretty fast. Might be able to get another good year out of him but year 3 may not happen if we have an option. Nolan Watson got called up for a start due to Duffy hitting the DL. Was good enough to earn another one after giving up 1 hit and 4 walks in 5.1 IP. Duffy will be back after missing one start. Scott Blewett will head to AAA.

The Bullpen moves we made seem to have worked for the most part. Angel Diaz is back in the closer role after Pagan took it for about a month. Moving Torres out of the set up spot has dropped his ERA by over 4 runs from 8.64 to 4.17. WHIP has dropped from 2.22 to 1.42. Has just 2 walks over the last 6 weeks. Had 6 in the first 2 months after allowing just 5 all of last year. Brad Keller fell of a cliff May. Ended up trying to send him back to AAA to add a bench player and he ended up getting claimed by the Pirates.


Schedule

Spoiler

17 straight games against teams over .500 to start the 2nd half. We follow that with 16 straight against teams under .500 before finishing August with 2 games against the Twins (over .500). Only 15 of the 35 games before September are on the road. That may not be a good thing though. We are 19-29 at home compared to 27-23 on the road. Still gonna be hard to make the playoffs but we are only 5.5 back of the WC. We have 7 teams ahead of us and the 2nd WC. We play them a combined 23 times. And we have 3 games against the Mariners who control the first WC spot. Its not over yet.


Draft

Spoiler

Estrada and Horvath are the only guys really worth watching. Estrada is a big dude. 6'5 220 at SS and can play LF/CF. Will probably end up spending most of his time in left. Could turn into a solid player. Might hit .280 with 15-20 HR. Not great vision and not very patient. Horvath throws a 4SFB, Slider, Sinker and Curve. Sits in the low 90's with some good movement. He just cant seem to always have it move where he wants. Ojeda is a dark horse guy. Throws a 4SFB, 2SFB, Change and Slider. Hits the high 90s with the fast ball and has fairly good control on it. Could develop into a solid lefty out of the pen or could end up being a career minor leaguer.

[LowerWolf]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Oddball question that fits here since it's a Franchise question:

How do you guys select your team's uniforms? Do you try to follow real life? Go with what the game selects?

For road games, I'm going with what the game selects. At home, cream on Sunday, normal home whites for the rest.

Past years I usually went alternates on the weekend, whites/grays during the week.

[Bgmoneyt77]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

May be a dumb question but only curious, are you guys actually playing these games or simming them?


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[NYJin2011tm]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

I have played every single game including Spring Training. I actually really enjoy ST games, just play and not worry about winning or losing.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

May be a dumb question but only curious, are you guys actually playing these games or simming them?


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

I play every single pitch of every single game

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Finished the first half of the season at 44-47, 5 1/2 games behind the Reds. We did take 2 out of 3 against the Blue Jays in Toronto, but lost the final game of the series on a walkoff homerun by Tony Sanchez. Harrison Bader hit a solo shot with 2 outs and 2 strikes off of Aroldis Chapman to tie the game in the top of the 9th. But Freeman's 3-2 fastball that was supposed to be on the hands of Sanchez, leaked out over the plate and he belted it to left for the win.

While we obviously haven't played well in the first half of the season we are still within striking distance of both the Reds and the wildcard. We will definitely have to play better in the 2nd half, but I think that is possible as we are hitting better and our pitching is pretty solid, although the bullpen has been shaky at times, but we are working to improve it.

Next up is the Futures Game followed by the MLB All-Star Game and then the AAA All-Star game before the second half of the season starts with 3 games at home against the Marlins.

[decga]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Oddball question that fits here since it's a Franchise question:

How do you guys select your team's uniforms? Do you try to follow real life? Go with what the game selects?

For road games, I'm going with what the game selects. At home, cream on Sunday, normal home whites for the rest.

Past years I usually went alternates on the weekend, whites/grays during the week.

Since we both as a Braves fan. I do follow the alternate home uni (cream) during weekend series. As far as the road uni's I go back and forth. I like the alternate the best but a variety keeps it fresh.

[decga]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

May be a dumb question but only curious, are you guys actually playing these games or simming them?


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

I am playing every game. I sure it's more player's on here are doing the same.

[decga]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Finished the first half of the season at 44-47, 5 1/2 games behind the Reds. We did take 2 out of 3 against the Blue Jays in Toronto, but lost the final game of the series on a walkoff homerun by Tony Sanchez. Harrison Bader hit a solo shot with 2 outs and 2 strikes off of Aroldis Chapman to tie the game in the top of the 9th. But Freeman's 3-2 fastball that was supposed to be on the hands of Sanchez, leaked out over the plate and he belted it to left for the win.

While we obviously haven't played well in the first half of the season we are still within striking distance of both the Reds and the wildcard. We will definitely have to play better in the 2nd half, but I think that is possible as we are hitting better and our pitching is pretty solid, although the bullpen has been shaky at times, but we are working to improve it.

Next up is the Futures Game followed by the MLB All-Star Game and then the AAA All-Star game before the second half of the season starts with 3 games at home against the Marlins.

Who's your rep in the Mid-Summer classic? Are you playing the MLB All Star game?