MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

[MightyMaxxx13]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Atlanta Braves Franchise

May 19, 2020

Braves Record: 24-24 (1st)

We're off to a good enough start, and find ourselves in a 3-way tie for 1st place in the weak NL east with the Mets and Nationals. This is a drastic improvement over the last two seasons to say the least. It starts with our pitching which is much improved. I've done some experimenting, and for the time being I've completely abandoned the traditional 5-man rotation and simply start the best available pitcher with full energy for each game. Its resulted in effectively a 4.5 man rotation. During weeks that there is a scheduled off day, my 5th man becomes a swingman as my ace will likely be fully rested by the time it is his turn to pitch. It has worked well so far. Luis Castillo leads the league with 78.1 innings pitched to go along with a more than respectable 2.53 ERA. I have Gio Gonzalez and Mike Soroka behind him, with Matt Wisler and Kolby Allard getting just the occasional starts as my 4th and 5th men. They have both been stellar when they have pitched. I will see how long I can keep this up but I see no reason to change course at this point. It helps that I have Castillo and Gio who are bona-fide #1 and #2 starters, something I lacked last season. Liam Hendriks has so far been a bust, and Edubray Ramos has assumed duties as the closer. Thankfully it hasn't broken our season as of yet.

My lineup hasn't really gotten going yet, which means there is still room to improve here without adding any pieces (if I do at the deadline). Freddie Freeman is slumping badly, batting .238 on the season with just 6 homers. Austin Riley has been dreadful - he's batting .159/.220/.253, has lost the starting 3B job to Johan Camargo, and is a step away from going back to the farm. Manny Pina, Ozzie Albies, and Marwin Gonzalez have all batted around the Mendoza line on the season as well. The offense has been carried by Brian Dozier who is having an MVP season. He is at .329/.432/.677(!) with 14 dingers but just 31 RBI's as my table setters have not done a great job in front of him. Rookie outfielder and Georgia native Michael Gettys is platooning in left field with Carrera, and is hitting .306.

We've toed .500 all year, so clearly this team could go either way. If the division stays this thin however we have a good chance at being in this race all year. I have a good deal of budget room so if we are in it at the deadline I will be free to make some trades and add some pieces. It all comes down to if our offense can start to really click, since we finally have some pitching.

Draft is in 15 days. We have the 3rd overall pick for the second year in a row.

[Sumodeads]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Hey guys. About 5 weeks ago I was ~70 games into my YANKEES franchise when I had to take a step away and evaluate my gameplay this year. What I thought was just a really good team on a hot streak just started to become to robotic, almost automatic and I was dominating both at the plate and on the mound. I'm pretty sure I was going to hit 100+ HR with Stanton and maybe Judge too. My teams pitching staff was holding at just under a 3.00 ERA. I think I had ~15 game lead in the AL East already. I just stopped enjoying it.

So I made a few adjustments to my difficulty/sliders. I started a new Fantasy Franchise(I know there is a separate thread, but it's not active like this one) with the Seattle Mariners and I've played the hell out of it for the past 5 weeks. It's been unbelievable! The games have played out awesome. So many tight games going both ways. Blowouts going both ways. I'm still hitting a Ton of homeruns, but it seems that's just my way(I also always choose teams with tons of pop).

Here's the adjustments I made:

Hitting difficulty- Increased from HOF to HOF+(used dynamic to get there and locked it in with the slider)

Pitching Difficulty- Remained on Legend, but added +1 to CPU solid hits and CPU Power. These two minor adjustments have made a HUGE difference to pitching for me. I have gotten rocked with every pitcher on my staff at some point in the season. It makes the rare gems that you throw that much more meaningful because you need to be on point for every pitch.

I have played every inning of every game so far. We just finished game 141 of the year and we beat Clayton Kershaw and the New York Yankees with a comeback victory in the 9th to tie the Angels for 1st place in the West at 85-56(also tied for best record in the AL). We've been fighting with them for 1st for almost the entire season. Neither team has had more than a 3 game lead for as long as I can remember. Every game since the all-star break has felt like a playoff game!

We have two more vs NYY and then a short 2 game interleague series vs the Padres before we meet up with the Angels for the last time this year(in the reg season at least). It will be a 4 game series in Anaheim and it will kick off the final 17 games of the year to be played against divisional opponents. We have the best record vs the division in the West at 39-20 and we are 9-6 on the year vs the Angels.

I'll prob wait to update with team stats until we run out these final games. Lucas Duda currently leads in MVP voting as he had a monstrous year for me. Archer is 3rd in CY Young but prob can't make up that ground. Edwin Diaz should be a lock for reliever of the year for us as he just notched his 50 save of the year.

[Itsma806]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

To be the star as a positional player the player must bat in the order as:

Leadoff hitter
3 hole hitter
Cleanup hitter

I don't think are any others than those 4.

As for pitcher, I don't recall seeing the "star" option but I know there is the "ACE" role and that pitcher must be at the number one position in the rotation.

If not then they take a morale hit.

I dunno if this works everytime but I have Yoan Moncada in the two hole and that satisfies his desire to be a star.

I figured the 5 hole was important enough to work as well but it didnt.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

We got back in the win column with a 5-4 victory over the Brewers in our home opener for 2020. Patrick Wisdom drove in 3, while Piscotty and Wong each drove in a run to lift us to the win. Michael Wacha was good going 6 strong allowing 2 runs and striking out 9. Our bullpen was shaky again as Tyler Lyons didn't record an out facing 2 batters, but gave up 2 hits including a long ball. Sam Freeman was shaky again as well, but he did get thru the inning walking one. Rosenthal came on and closed the door for his 3rd save of the year.

Next up is game 2 with Carlos Martinez taking the hill against Jimmy Nelson.

Other news:

Devon Snow made his professional debut last night for Springfield and went 2 for 3 with a double and 4 RBI's. Not a bad way to start the year.

[Bm7414206]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Hey has anyone done 30 man fantasy draft if ap how did u go about it?

[maxymoose]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

END OF JULY UPDATE

September has come around and the Pirates are sitting with a 4 game lead on the NL Central division. We finished August 12-15 so we're really gonna have to giver this month to maintain our lead. Strasburg is no longer the favorite to win the CY Young after not being able to regain form since the All Star Break, and SF Giants lefty Chris Sale now leads the way, posting a 14-5 W-L record with a 2.45 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 245 SO. Strasburg has a better ERA and WHIP of 2.03 and 1.05 respectively, but his W-L is 14-7 and only has 209 SO. Seems to be a two headed race as Philles' Max Scherzer is pretty far back at 11-8 and 2.83 ERA, 216 SO and 1.21 WHIP. Looks like Zunino and DeJong my take Silver Slugger honours for their respective positions, but still a month left.

STANDINGS

# Team___W-L___GB

AL East
1. Red Sox____75-61___ -
2. Orioles_____74-61___ 0.5
3. Blue Jays___66-68___8.0
4. Yankees____66-69___8.5
5. Rays_______63-71___11.0

AL Central
1. Royals_____72-62___ -
2. Tigers_____69-66___3.5
3. Twins_____ 68-67___4.5
4. White Sox__67-69___6.0
5. Indians____58-76___14.0

AL West
1. Mariners___76-59___ -
2. Angels____ 75-60___1.0
3. Rangers___ 71-64___5.0
4. Athletics___61-75___15.5
5. Astros_____59-76___17.0

AL Wildcard
Team____GB
Angels_____ -
Orioles_____ -
Rangers____ 3.0
Tigers______5.0
Twins______6.0
White Sox__7.5
Rays_______7.5
Blue Jays___8.0

NL East
Marlins____73-62___ -
Braves____72-62___0.5
Nationals__66-69___7.0
Phillies____63-71___9.5
Mets______58-76___14.5

NL Central
Pirates____76-59___ -
Cubs_____ 71-63___4.5
Reds_____ 70-65___6.0
Cardinals__69-66___7.0
Brewers___62-74___14.5

NL West
Giants________ 83-53___ -
Padres________ 69-68___14.5
Dodgers_______64-71___18.5
Diamondbacks__56-59___26.5
Rockies_______ 52-82___30.0

NL Wildcard
Braves_____ -
Cubs_______-
Reds______ 1.5
Cardinals___2.5
Padres_____3.5
Nationals___5.5

Some tight races going down pretty much everywhere except the NL West. should be interesting.

PLAYER STATS

2B Javier Baez: 16 HR, 49 RBI, .275/.349/.450, 14 SB
SS Paul DeJong: 31 HR, 73 RBI, .263/.330/.543
C Mike Zunino: 38 HR, 79 RBI, .280/.338/.580
LF Kyle Schwarber: 23 HR, 61 RBI, .254/.338/.505
RF Gregory Polanco: 20 HR, 66 RBI, .267/.343/.446, 19 SB
3B Matt Carpenter: 15 HR, 51 RBI, .251/.367/.402
1B Ryon Healy: 18 HR, 53 RBI, .245/.308/.407
CF Keon Broxton: 17 HR, 54 RBI, .246/.352/.474, 15 SB

1B/3B Jeimer Candelario: 2 HR, 3 RBI, .220/.303/.339
C/OF Evan Gattis: 4 HR, 19 RBI, .235/.308/.338
IF/OF Yangervis Solarte: 11 HR, 35 RBI, .272/.332/.441
OF Rusney Castillo: 7 HR, 25 RBI, .224/.303/.373
IF/OF Hernan Perez: 2 HR, 10 RBI, .184/.250/.264

SP Steven Strasburg: 14-7, 190.2 IP, 209 SO, 2.03 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
SP J.A Happ: 9-10, 159.1 IP, 133 SO, 4.07 ERA, 1.36 WHIP
SP Tyler Skaggs: 9-9, 156.2 IP, 139 SO, 4.60 ERA, 1.52 WHIP
SP Andrew Triggs: 10-9, 152.0 IP, 141 SO, 3.61 ERA, 1.21 WHIP
SP Joe Ross: 9-8, 131.1 IP, 86 SO, 4.66 ERA, 1.32 WHIP

LRP Chad Bettis: 3-2, 85.0 IP, 44 SO, 3.07 ERA, 1.22 WHIP
MRP Bruce Rondon: 7-3, 64.2 IP, 83 SO, 4.18 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
MRP Michael Feliz: 5-3, 83.1 IP, 113 SO, 3.89 ERA, 1.44 WHIP
MRP Wandy Peralta: 1-2, 61.1 IP, 69 SO, 2.93 ERA, 1.42 WHIP
MRP Luis Garcia: 5-1, 32.0 IP, 26 SO, 1.69 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 9/11 SV
SU Gregory Infante: 2-0, 66.2 IP, 62 SO, 2.03 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
CP Roberto Osuna: 2-5, 49.0 IP, 56 SO, 5.14 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 35/42 SV

PROSPECT WATCH

AAA
1B D.J Peterson: 16 HR, 45 RBI, .220
CF Harrison Bader: 20 HR, 73 RBI, .269

SP Alec Hansen: 10-10, 158.1 IP, 127 SO, 3.69 ERA, 1.36 WHIP
SP David Paulino: 13-4, 150.1 IP, 119 SO, 3.17 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
RP Miguel Castro: 8-8, 161.0 IP, 134 SO, 3.30 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
RP Hector Mendoza, 4-3, 63.1 IP, 60 SO, 3.84 ERA, 1.39 WHIP

AA

3B Jomar Reyes: 4 HR, 16 RBI, .211

SP Oscar de la Cruz: 9-9, 159.2 IP, 131 SO, 3.04 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
SP Nate Pearson: 10-3, 117.0 IP, 105 SO, 3.23 ERA, 1.20 WHIP

Zunino still leading the NL in HR so legggggooooooooo

[maxymoose]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

END OF JULY UPDATE

September has come around and the Pirates are sitting with a 4 game lead on the NL Central division. We finished August 12-15 so we're really gonna have to giver this month to maintain our lead. Strasburg is no longer the favorite to win the CY Young after not being able to regain form since the All Star Break, and SF Giants lefty Chris Sale now leads the way, posting a 14-5 W-L record with a 2.45 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 245 SO. Strasburg has a better ERA and WHIP of 2.03 and 1.05 respectively, but his W-L is 14-7 and only has 209 SO. Seems to be a two headed race as Philles' Max Scherzer is pretty far back at 11-8 and 2.83 ERA, 216 SO and 1.21 WHIP. Looks like Zunino and DeJong my take Silver Slugger honours for their respective positions, but still a month left.

STANDINGS

# Team___W-L___GB

AL East
1. Red Sox____75-61___ -
2. Orioles_____74-61___ 0.5
3. Blue Jays___66-68___8.0
4. Yankees____66-69___8.5
5. Rays_______63-71___11.0

AL Central
1. Royals_____72-62___ -
2. Tigers_____69-66___3.5
3. Twins_____ 68-67___4.5
4. White Sox__67-69___6.0
5. Indians____58-76___14.0

AL West
1. Mariners___76-59___ -
2. Angels____ 75-60___1.0
3. Rangers___ 71-64___5.0
4. Athletics___61-75___15.5
5. Astros_____59-76___17.0

AL Wildcard
Team____GB
Angels_____ -
Orioles_____ -
Rangers____ 3.0
Tigers______5.0
Twins______6.0
White Sox__7.5
Rays_______7.5
Blue Jays___8.0

NL East
Marlins____73-62___ -
Braves____72-62___0.5
Nationals__66-69___7.0
Phillies____63-71___9.5
Mets______58-76___14.5

NL Central
Pirates____76-59___ -
Cubs_____ 71-63___4.5
Reds_____ 70-65___6.0
Cardinals__69-66___7.0
Brewers___62-74___14.5

NL West
Giants________ 83-53___ -
Padres________ 69-68___14.5
Dodgers_______64-71___18.5
Diamondbacks__56-59___26.5
Rockies_______ 52-82___30.0

NL Wildcard
Braves_____ -
Cubs_______-
Reds______ 1.5
Cardinals___2.5
Padres_____3.5
Nationals___5.5

Some tight races going down pretty much everywhere except the NL West. should be interesting.

PLAYER STATS

2B Javier Baez: 16 HR, 49 RBI, .275/.349/.450, 14 SB
SS Paul DeJong: 31 HR, 73 RBI, .263/.330/.543
C Mike Zunino: 38 HR, 79 RBI, .280/.338/.580
LF Kyle Schwarber: 23 HR, 61 RBI, .254/.338/.505
RF Gregory Polanco: 20 HR, 66 RBI, .267/.343/.446, 19 SB
3B Matt Carpenter: 15 HR, 51 RBI, .251/.367/.402
1B Ryon Healy: 18 HR, 53 RBI, .245/.308/.407
CF Keon Broxton: 17 HR, 54 RBI, .246/.352/.474, 15 SB

1B/3B Jeimer Candelario: 2 HR, 3 RBI, .220/.303/.339
C/OF Evan Gattis: 4 HR, 19 RBI, .235/.308/.338
IF/OF Yangervis Solarte: 11 HR, 35 RBI, .272/.332/.441
OF Rusney Castillo: 7 HR, 25 RBI, .224/.303/.373
IF/OF Hernan Perez: 2 HR, 10 RBI, .184/.250/.264

SP Steven Strasburg: 14-7, 190.2 IP, 209 SO, 2.03 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
SP J.A Happ: 9-10, 159.1 IP, 133 SO, 4.07 ERA, 1.36 WHIP
SP Tyler Skaggs: 9-9, 156.2 IP, 139 SO, 4.60 ERA, 1.52 WHIP
SP Andrew Triggs: 10-9, 152.0 IP, 141 SO, 3.61 ERA, 1.21 WHIP
SP Joe Ross: 9-8, 131.1 IP, 86 SO, 4.66 ERA, 1.32 WHIP

LRP Chad Bettis: 3-2, 85.0 IP, 44 SO, 3.07 ERA, 1.22 WHIP
MRP Bruce Rondon: 7-3, 64.2 IP, 83 SO, 4.18 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
MRP Michael Feliz: 5-3, 83.1 IP, 113 SO, 3.89 ERA, 1.44 WHIP
MRP Wandy Peralta: 1-2, 61.1 IP, 69 SO, 2.93 ERA, 1.42 WHIP
MRP Luis Garcia: 5-1, 32.0 IP, 26 SO, 1.69 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 9/11 SV
SU Gregory Infante: 2-0, 66.2 IP, 62 SO, 2.03 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
CP Roberto Osuna: 2-5, 49.0 IP, 56 SO, 5.14 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 35/42 SV

PROSPECT WATCH

AAA
1B D.J Peterson: 16 HR, 45 RBI, .220
CF Harrison Bader: 20 HR, 73 RBI, .269

SP Alec Hansen: 10-10, 158.1 IP, 127 SO, 3.69 ERA, 1.36 WHIP
SP David Paulino: 13-4, 150.1 IP, 119 SO, 3.17 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
RP Miguel Castro: 8-8, 161.0 IP, 134 SO, 3.30 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
RP Hector Mendoza, 4-3, 63.1 IP, 60 SO, 3.84 ERA, 1.39 WHIP

AA

3B Jomar Reyes: 4 HR, 16 RBI, .211

SP Oscar de la Cruz: 9-9, 159.2 IP, 131 SO, 3.04 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
SP Nate Pearson: 10-3, 117.0 IP, 105 SO, 3.23 ERA, 1.20 WHIP

Zunino still leading the NL in HR so legggggooooooooo

THIS IS ACTUALLY END OF AUGUST UPDATE

[MightyMaxxx13]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Atlanta Braves Franchise

June 4, 2020

Braves Record: 29-33 (5th)

This team continues to frustrate the hell out of me. We’ve gone 5-9 in our last 14 to drop from tied for first down to 5th in a super-tight division race filled with mediocre teams. This has been the story all year. We get smacked around by good teams, then put together a nice winning streak to get back to .500 but can’t break beyond that. I have another month or so to figure out if this team is worth spending prospects to add pieces and make a run at the division. We are coming off 99 and 101 loss seasons, so I am getting antsy.

2020 First Year Player Draft Recap

Round 1 - 2B/SS Steven Bowling (Illinois)
Lefty with plus glove and speed, average hit tool, and currenty sub-par power and arm strength. Could be a Chase Utley-type game changer if he puts it together.

Round 2 - OF Bobby Vasquez (Oregon)
All-star potential but not advanced enough to start in AA. Has 80 speed but his other tools need some development.

Round 3- LHP Jason Johnson (California)
Reliever with a big fastball. Projects as a power set-up man and may only take a year to make it to the show.

Round 4 - RHP Miguel Guerra (Dominican Republic)
Power reliever - organizational depth type guy

Round 5 - RHP Pablo Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
Nasty sinker/slider. Keeps ball on the ground but will need to work on command. #5 starter type.

Round 6 - C Sean Francisco (Dominican Republic)
Average tools all around except for speed. Backup catcher type.

Not a great draft, but pulled in two top prospects. I made a minor trade as well, swapping Erik Goeddel to Cleveland for C Roberto Perez who will platoon with Manny Pina.

[reyes the roof]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

I just finished my 81st game in my franchise, which I'm pretty sure is the furthest I've ever made it in a season. I should be able to get a few seasons deep since I'm passing on Madden this year and The Show will get my full attention. Some highlights from the first half...
I got off to a terrible start and fell 8.5 games behind the Nationals but have cut the lead to 2.5 games, currently sitting at 50-31


My starting pitching has been what has carried the team and Familia has had a ton of save opportunities due to my poor offense leading to close games nearly every day
Syndergaard 8-3 3.33 era 110.2 IP 124 SO
deGrom 6-2 1.95 era 110.2 IP 129 SO
Matz 10-1 1.93 era 107 IP 118 SO
Wheeler 11-3 3.33 3ra 97.1 IP 101 SO
Hyun-Jin Ryu 2-1 1.93 era 37.1 IP 32 SO


My bullpen has been hit or miss but Familia has racked up 34 saves so far. I grabbed Trevor Rosenthal off of the scrap heap about ten days ago and he's been outstanding, I'm regretting that I only gave him a one year deal.


Offensively I'm hitting a bunch of home runs but nobody is getting on base and when they do, I run myself out of the inning. Cespedes and Adrian Gonzalez are the only guys hitting over 300, but every hit Gonzalez gets seems to be a single with nobody on base. Frazier leads the team with 45 RBI, Conforto with 44 and Cespedes 43. Cespedes has 25 HR, Frazier 21, Conforto 17 and Bruce has 14. Brandon Nimmo has 12 HRs in only 134 at bats so I need to find a way to get him in the lineup more

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

We continue our winning ways after beating the Brewers for the 3rd straight game, 3-1. Lance Lynn was exceptional going 7 solid innings, giving up a run, 3 hits and striking out 11. We lost Magnerius Sierra to the 10 Day DL with a finger injury. I probably could've let him nurse it, but its early in the year and we already have Greg Garcia nursing a blister.

Will most likely call up Nick Martini to fill the void and let Bader start in center. Corey Ray will go from AA to AAA and Dylan Carlson will get promoted from single A to AA.

Next up is series finale with the Brewers. Jack Flaherty vs Zach Davies.

[KBLover]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

"Just find a way. Keep fighting. That's just what we do, " Mark Morrow commented.

The Marlins extended their win streak to a dozen after looking like it was about to end.

The bullpen was taxed as rain caused an one hour delay, thwarting what looked like a good outing from rookie Shane Kane, who was looking to move to 8-0.

That put the bullpen in action. But Ozzie Luis suffered an arm injury and had to leave the game. So, the Marlins put in Frank Clemente to eat some innings.

Move forward to the 8th with the Marlins nursing a 3-1 lead, but having to turn to an exhausted bullpen. Carlos Guerra had a nearly flawless season to this point, but he cracked, giving up a 3-run HR, the first bomb he's allowed, to put the Brewers up 4-3. The Brewers would get another run before Curtis Anders could will his team out of the 8th with the game still in reach.

Down 5-3, the Marlins got a couple walks with two outs in the inning. Greg Rivera and Arturo Gonzalez worked their way on via the walk for Mark Morrow.

And, once again, Mark Morrow came up aces with runners on base, powering a home run to right field that gave the Marlins a 6-5 lead.

"He's a completely different hitter with runners on base. It's really amazing how he just has such confidence in key situations, " the Marlins manager commented.

"I can't tell you what I do - it doesn't seem any different. I just go up there being focused, knowing I need to come through. I'm glad my team looks at me like someone they can count on, it makes me feel proud, " Morrow commented.

The Marlins will get a needed day off to try to get the bullpen back in shape. Hopefully, their war horse, Damian Boeve, will be able to give a long outing to help that cause and maybe make it 13 in a row.


Notes:
Ozzie Luis suffered a pulled hamstring and will be out up to two weeks...He will be placed on the DL...Jay Craft was diagnosed with a pulled back after the game despite playing the whole game...He will be placed on the DL for precautionary reasons...P Mario Morales and IF Andres Gutierrez will be activated...

[Sumodeads]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

We split the final two games with the Yankees to take the series 2-1. The 2nd game of the series we got another gem from Danny Salazar who went 8 2/3 scoreless just allowing 2 hits and 2 walks. I had to pull him in the 9th because they got the tying run to the plate and he was tiring at 111 pitches. Diaz picked up his 51st save. All our offense was supplied by a 3-run HR by our young 3B Villanueva in the 3rd inning and we won 3-0. Salazar started the year off terribly with an ERA above 5.00 for much of the season. He has been on a torrid pace since the beginning of August though going 6-0 in his last 7 starts with 2 CG SHO as well as the 8 2/3 scoreless here. He has also struck out 10 batters in 5 of those 7 starts and currently is tied for 3rd in the AL in Ks.

After that we had a short 2 game series with the MLB best San Diego Padres. The bats came out to play and we smashed 5 HR in each game! The first game we took comfortably 10-5. Game 2 was a good battle and we came out on top 6-4. Taking advantage of the expanded rosters we used 7 pitchers in the game to get the best matchups. Not taking any chances we brought on Edwin Diaz with 2 outs in the 8th to get the 4 out save for us. All he did was face 4 batters and strike out all 4! He picked up his MLB best 52nd save and we got the 2 game sweep.

During all this action the Angels lost 2 out of 3 to Texas so we now lead the the West by 1.5 games going into our 4 game set vs the Angels! These games will be huge with that playoff atmosphere...I prob won't go to sleep tonight without banging out the whole series haha. We have the top of our rotation up to start the series with Archer and then Salazar!

88-57 with 17 to go.

[KBLover]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Ironic that the Marlins win streak comes to an end with their most storied pitcher on the mound.

Boeve, perhaps really starting to fall to a lower tier, got knocked around against a 1st place Cubs squad with some bats of their own. Boeve gave up 5 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings of work, causing his ERA to climb to 2.11 and his record to drop to 13-2.

The bats couldn't mount any kind of heroics this time. The Marlins fell 7-4.

Scouts have Boeve just barely in the upper tier, grading him at 70/80 and still feeling that he's trending down in his age-34 season.

"He's been playing like he's still the best pitcher in the league, but I think that's over his head at this point. I think he'll still be productive, but the Marlins are a staff without an ace in my view. They still have strong rotation depth, but no rotation star or ace at this point, " one analyst commented.

The offense found out what happens when only Brito and Gonzalez are the contributors. Brito went 3-for-5 with a double but was not driven in a single time. Gonzalez hit two home runs and drove in three, but there was no other run scoring support.

The Marlins will send rookie Ricky Paris to the hill in hopes of getting the team back on the winning track. The Marlins are expected to have another tough game. The Cubs are slated to send Charlie Sharpe to the mound, who sports a ridiculous ERA of 1.26.

[Sumodeads]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Ironic that the Marlins win streak comes to an end with their most storied pitcher on the mound.

Boeve, perhaps really starting to fall to a lower tier, got knocked around against a 1st place Cubs squad with some bats of their own. Boeve gave up 5 runs on 10 hits in 5 innings of work, causing his ERA to climb to 2.11 and his record to drop to 13-2.

The bats couldn't mount any kind of heroics this time. The Marlins fell 7-4.

Scouts have Boeve just barely in the upper tier, grading him at 70/80 and still feeling that he's trending down in his age-34 season.

"He's been playing like he's still the best pitcher in the league, but I think that's over his head at this point. I think he'll still be productive, but the Marlins are a staff without an ace in my view. They still have strong rotation depth, but no rotation star or ace at this point, " one analyst commented.

The offense found out what happens when only Brito and Gonzalez are the contributors. Brito went 3-for-5 with a double but was not driven in a single time. Gonzalez hit two home runs and drove in three, but there was no other run scoring support.

The Marlins will send rookie Ricky Paris to the hill in hopes of getting the team back on the winning track. The Marlins are expected to have another tough game. The Cubs are slated to send Charlie Sharpe to the mound, who sports a ridiculous ERA of 1.26.

Pretty nuts when the guy is losing his touch and is 13-2 with a inflated 2.11 ERA!

[Sumodeads]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

The Mariners traveled to Anaheim with one thing on their minds...Claim OUR Division. A huge 4 game series that could very well determine who would take 1st in the West and who would have to play in that Wilcard game. It was an awesome, action packed series with every game feeling like it was the Playoffs!

Game 1- 8-5 Win: We were confident with Archer on the mound. After we got off to a 3-0 lead and him cruising through the first 4 scoreless it seemed like we were well on the way. Then he hit a speed bump in the 5th and they rallied to tie it at 3. The next two innings we would score a run in the top half and they would match us in the bottom. 5-5 to the 8th. After a Duda walk, Trevor Story took a hanging breaking ball 439 feet to Left Center for what would be the game winner. We tacked on one in the 9th and Diaz came on for the 1-2-3 save with 2 Ks(53rd save).

Game 2 2-1 Loss in 12 innings Heartbreaking loss. Salazar pitched his *** off. We led 1-0 to the 9th on a sac fly by Dee Gordon of all people. We had only 2 hits all game. Buxton led off and on a broken bat hit a cue shot that hit the 1B bag and allowed him to reach. A fly out, stolen base and strike out later and it was down to the last out. Smoak would come through with a base hit to tie it. Salazar would get the next man to finish off another strong 9 innings of 1 run ball and 11 Ks, but no decision. 3 innings later Haniger would walk it off with a Oppo-taco into the right field seats to even the series.

Game 3 8-4 Win we dominated this game. Miles Mikolas would give us a great performance of 7 innings of 1 run ball. We had an 8-1 lead going into the 9th when the bullpen/defense got shaky. A bobble on the IF that was called a hit and then a throwing error plus a few hits made the game closer than it was. We actually had to bring in Diaz to get the final out with 2 on and the tying run on deck. He got a weak grounder back to himself and picked up his 54th save in the process.

Game 4 7-4 Win We got a good enough start from our #4 guy, LH Chad Bell. He went 6 inn of 4 run ball to pick up the W. Our boys hit 4 HR and the bullpen was lights out. Blake Wood, Pedro Baez and Edwin Diaz got the final 9 outs without allowing a run. Diaz got another 1-2-3 9th with 2 Ks to notch his 55th Save, closing in on the record with just 13 games left to play.

So now it's our division to lose. 91-58, 3.5 games over the Angels with 13 to play. We just passed the Padres(91-59) for best record in MLB. Let's goooooooooo!!!