Fountains Up (OOTP 26)

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  • artoodeetoo
    MVP
    • Dec 2015
    • 3696

    #1

    Fountains Up (OOTP 26)


    GAME SETTINGS
    Platform: Steam
    Game: OOTP 26
    Role: GM
    Trade settings: Hard
    Play style: Sim but will interrupt for injury subs
    GM Control: Trades and free agency


  • artoodeetoo
    MVP
    • Dec 2015
    • 3696

    #2
    Last edited by artoodeetoo; 08-22-2025, 08:48 PM.

    Comment

    • artoodeetoo
      MVP
      • Dec 2015
      • 3696

      #3

      Reserved 2
      Attached Files
      Last edited by artoodeetoo; 08-19-2025, 09:03 PM.

      Comment

      • artoodeetoo
        MVP
        • Dec 2015
        • 3696

        #4
        Reserved 3
        Attached Files

        Comment

        • artoodeetoo
          MVP
          • Dec 2015
          • 3696

          #5
          Starting with August 14th here; the other thread was just too cluttered and I've been working on a new save.

          Comment

          • artoodeetoo
            MVP
            • Dec 2015
            • 3696

            #6


            ROYALS MAILBAG
            Trade deadline thoughts; Salvy extension on the table?


            By artoodeetoo
            08/14/2025


            Thoughts on the trade deadline?

            To me, the pitching acquisitions were just as much an indictment of the minor league depth as it was about the pile-up of injuries on the big-league roster. Kyle Wright has not been as good as hoped in the minors, even coming off shoulder surgery that had kept him out of major league action for over a full season. Prospects Chandler Champlain and Steven Zobac have struggled hard at Triple-A and Double-A, respectively.

            The veteran reinforcements brought in have not panned out, either. Rich Hill made two below-average starts with the Royals before getting jettisoned off the roster. John Gant and Dallas Keuchel have had their ups and downs with Omaha, but neither one looks ready to contribute with the parent club. Justin Dunn has also been atrocious with an ERA over 7 in Triple-A action.

            Enter JJ Picollo, who swung five deals to get six players in the days leading up to the deadline, including three for four on the 31st alone. Getting Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek for Freddy Fermin was talked about as one of the most underrated trades by outlets like MLB Network and ESPN, especially since Bergert was a consensus top-ten prospect in the Padres' system. Bailey Falter is a high-floor lefty that should hold down a back-end rotation spot at least through the end of the regular season, and is controlled for several more seasons beyond 2025.

            Moving your very-solid backup catcher also tells me that they feel good about the catching depth in their system, and they should. Carter Jensen is close to MLB ready at just twenty-one. Blake Mitchell has battled injuries this season, but is set to come off the injured list within the next few days and rehab in Single-A.

            The organization is still really high on him, as teams inquired about his services, but wouldn't make him available in any trade discussions. Then there are others like Ramon Ramirez, Luca Tresh, and then Brooks Bryan, their eighth-round pick who likely won't stick at catcher, but they really like the offensive potential.

            I was less impressed with the position player pickups, but they all represented at least modest improvements even as rentals and bring postseason experience to the table. Mike Yazstremski has been very good, homering in his first Royals at-bat, and has been cited by Matt Quatraro as a "fountain of knowledge", which is huge for younger hitters like Maikel Garcia and Jac Caglianone.

            Would you give Salvy a new deal?

            His $13.5 million team option for 2026 is much more palatable for a team like Kansas City, as opposed to the $20M-plus salary hits of the past few years. No extension talks have commenced; but with Freddy Fermin gone, it's difficult to imagine the Royals not going into next season with Perez not on the roster in some fashion. In the event that they do decline the option, he would bring back a draft pick (if he signed elsewhere) as the Royals would almost assuredly tag him with a qualifying offer.

            One thing that's pretty remarkable is that Perez is defending on a Gold Glove level this season. Will he win it? I don't know, but he should at least be a finalist given the down year defensively that Cal Raleigh is having, and the general weakness of the position (on a defensive level) this season. The only thing holding him back is that he doesn't have a ton of innings over some of the more established catchers, but he's 11-for-23 (47.8%) throwing out base-stealers, and his framing metrics have been positive all season long.

            I'd offer a deal; but I'd keep it to no more than two years; or perhaps three if the third year has some sort of option attached. With Carter Jensen on the cusp of the majors, it's the next logical step that he could take over some of the back-up reps, perhaps as soon as this season if needed, but will more likely be on Opening Day of 2026.

            What is your take on the state of the AL race?

            From the Royals' perspective, the fact that they've struggled against the Red Sox and Twins, and are still just three games out of a wildcard spot is remarkable. They just took two of three from the Nationals; and now get the hapless White Sox for a chance to really close the gap on teams like the Yankees, the free-falling Blue Jays, and the Mariners.

            Losing Bobby Witt for even a short period of time is going to hurt, but they've still managed to go 4-2 in his absence, and he's likely to return for the first game of the critical four-game home series with the Rangers that begins on Monday night if Matt Quatraro's remarks from a few nights ago are correct. Health again is going to be a big factor down the home stretch for the Royals, much like last year, because they're not deep.

            Cleveland has also managed to stay in the race despite losing Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz to a gambling scandal, and trading away veteran pitchers Shane Bieber and Paul Sewald. They fielded calls on outfielder Steven Kwan, but ultimately decided to keep him. It's good that they did as he's posted a 133 OPS+ in August, while Jose Ramirez has been in a lengthy slump with just a 61 OPS+ in the same time frame.

            By the way, regarding the Red Sox -- they've gone from fringe playoff contender at the beginning of July to a legitimate World Series threat. Since July 1st, they've gone 26-10, which is the best record in baseball over that time frame. They also extended young star Roman Anthony, which is another feather in the cap of new baseball ops chief Craig Breslow.

            His trade acquisitions have been solid with Steven Matz scoreless through eight innings of work, and Dustin May is 2-0 with a 2.02 ERA in his first two starts with the club.

            Was it a mistake to bring Caglianone up when they did?

            It's really too early to tell. The thing that a lot of people are discounting is that he's not striking out at a super-high rate (21.3%) for such a young player at this level. His BABIP is at an absurdly-low .167, which combined with an ever-increasing amount of plate appearances, suggests there is some real bad luck when you consider how the ball jumps off his bat, even on most of his batted-ball outs.

            The only thing you'd like to see is a bit better walk rate (5.5%); but that doesn't include also getting hit five times, which spikes it to 8.2% if you include those PA's.

            Also, with veterans like Randal Grichuk and Mike Yasztremski on the roster, he can just focus on hitting as those veterans are more accomplished in the field currently. That's not to say that he will be a DH-only the rest of the season, but he's a defensive liability as compared to the others, and the focus for the remainder of this season should be keeping his mind right at the dish. The offseason is when the real work will be put in for improving his defense.

            Anything from the draft stand out?

            Something that sticks out from the last few drafts is how different the front office approaches the higher rounds than the previous group. Dayton Moore prioritized high-floor over higher-ceiling, which is fine, but it's interesting that his right-hand man is so markedly different.

            Some of that might be the influence of Brian Bridges, who is one of the more renowned amateur scouts in the game (and is another former Braves scout that knows both Moore and JJ Picollo). But some of that is also undeniably Picollo, who has worked hard to differentiate himself from Moore.

            Dayton also really, really prioritized character. That's also okay, but I think it was prioritized to the detriment of simply getting the most talented player possible. Gavin Cross has stalled out in Double-A; for someone that came out of college with the pedigree that he had, it's a bit surprising. Asa Lacy has been a clear bust from 2020, although to be fair, 2020 was the crapshoot draft of all crapshoots.

            2023 was the first draft where JJ Picollo had "significant" input (those were Moore's words) in setting up the draft board, and was a big champion for taking Blake Mitchell that year. He's still only a few years in, but that pick has been...meh. He's a very good receiver/thrower with good power and draws walks, but the hit tool has to come along at some point, or he's likely just a backup at the MLB level. Not ideal for an eighth-overall pick.

            They were again looking to take a high school player (likely Bryce Rainer from what we've gleaned from public knowledge) with the sixth pick last year, but the best college slugger in years fell to them, and it was too good to pass up. Jac Caglianone has had mixed results at the MLB level so far, but there are encouraging signs for sure.

            They've also been sneaky-good at convincing late-round players to sign -- righty Grayson Boles (18th round) was a last-minute signing as the Royals pried him away from Arizona with a $500,000 bonus, which may not seem like much, but he's highly-thought of enough that he's already in the Royals' top ten prospects by both BA and Fangraphs.

            Comment

            • artoodeetoo
              MVP
              • Dec 2015
              • 3696

              #7


              ROYALS HEADLINES
              BWJ expected back today; Royals sweep Southsiders


              By artoodeetoo
              08/18/2025


              8/14 -- Royals sign Dalbec, LeMahieu to minors deals: The Royals have beefed up their minor league depth with a pair of long-time MLB veterans in infielders DJ LeMahieu and Bobby Dalbec, signing them to minor league pacts.
              Spoiler


              8/15 -- Seven Royals farmhands to participate in AFL: Arizona Fall League rosters were announced on Wednesday, as the Royals will be sending seven of their minor leaguers to Arizona in late October to play in the Arizona Fall Laague.
              Spoiler


              8/16 -- Lugo, Royals blank the Sox: On a season-high 110 pitches, Seth Lugo bamboozled the White Sox lineup with just six hits allowed over 8 1/3 innings, striking out eight in a 4-0 victory over Chicago.
              Spoiler


              8/17 -- Salvy day-to-day: After leaving the game for a pinch-runner in the eighth inning of Friday's win, Salvador Perez was listed as day-to-day heading into the game on Saturday night with what was termed as lower back tightness.
              Spoiler


              8/17 -- Falter delivers stirring performance in victory: In just his third start since coming over from the Pirates, Bailey Falter turned in one of his best performances of the season as he allowed just two earned runs over eight innings as the Royals cruised in a 6-2 win over the White Sox.
              Spoiler


              8/18 -- Royals win in extras to claim sweep: Much like a Broadway musical, the Royals came full-circle on Sunday afternoon with Mike Yastrzemski playing the lead role in the opening and closing acts, with some drama in between.
              Spoiler

              Comment

              • artoodeetoo
                MVP
                • Dec 2015
                • 3696

                #8


                MLB NEWS WIRE
                Red Sox extend Anthony; Scherzer, Walker out for season


                By MLB.com staff
                08/18/2025


                8/14 -- : After several opinions, Toronto righty Max Scherzer was placed on the 60-day injured list with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.
                Spoiler


                8/15 -- Anthony extension with Red Sox finalized; terms disclosed: A few days ago, the Red Sox announced they had extended young outfielder Roman Anthony to an eight-year extension, but the terms have been finalized and released to the public.
                Spoiler


                8/16 -- Phillies' Walker out for season; Nola activated: Despite losing veteran righty Taijuan Walker to a hamstring injury for the season, they'll get Aaron Nola back from his rehab assignment tonight for his first start since May.
                Spoiler


                8/17 -- Nola bombarded in first start back: Making his first start since May 13th against the Cardinals, Aaron Nola was touched for six earned runs in four innings as the Nationals pounded the Phillies 10-3.
                Spoiler

                Comment

                • artoodeetoo
                  MVP
                  • Dec 2015
                  • 3696

                  #9


                  ROYALS HEADLINES
                  Royals, Rangers split series; LeMahieu added to active roster


                  By artoodeetoo
                  08/22/2025


                  8/18 -- BWJ activated; Harvey to injured list: Kansas City made a couple of roster moves ahead of their series opener with the Rangers, as Bobby Witt Jr (finger) was activated off the injured list, but reportedly is still not completely back to 100%. Michael Massey was optioned to Omaha to make room.
                  Spoiler


                  8/19 -- Pasquatch powers Royals win: Vinnie Pasquantino nearly single-handedly powered the Royals' 3-1 win over the Rangers, hitting his 20th homerun to not only push him ahead of Salvador Perez for the team lead, but set a new career-high.
                  Spoiler


                  8/20 -- Royals drop slugfest to the Rangers: It was a rare poor outing for Noah Cameron, as the rookie lefty suffered through a brief outing, lasting just sixty-eight pitches through five innings before getting replaced.
                  Spoiler


                  8/21 -- Royals win in walk-off fashion: Helped by one of the best defensive plays from a pitcher in recent memory by Sam Long in the top of the 10th, the Royals were spurred on to take the victory with a sac fly in the bottom of the inning to escape with a 5-4 win over the Rangers on Wednesday night.
                  Spoiler


                  8/22 -- Bullpen implodes late as Rangers salvage final game: Down 6-2 in the sixth, the Royals would score twice in each of the next two innings to tie the score, but Texas tacked on a pair of runs in the eighth and managed to hold the Royals off to secure a split, handing the Royals an 8-6 loss.
                  Spoiler


                  8/22 -- LeMahieu contract purchased; promoted to active roster: It's now official -- the Royals have selected DJ LeMahieu's contract from Triple-A Omaha, and will report to the Royals on the road, where they'll begin a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers tonight.
                  Spoiler

                  Comment

                  • artoodeetoo
                    MVP
                    • Dec 2015
                    • 3696

                    #10


                    MLB NEWS WIRE
                    Royals to welcome BWJ back; Cubs nearly swept in five-game series with Brewers


                    By MLB.com staff
                    08/22/2025


                    8/18 -- Cubs make big move in Power Rankings: Needing to make up some ground against the red-hot Brewers, the Cubs needed a good week last week and they did just that, sweeping the Blue Jays on the road and taking two of three from the Pirates at home, pulling to within four games in the division.
                    Spoiler


                    8/18 -- Royals to activate Bobby Witt Jr: The Royals are activating All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr off the 10-day injured list just prior to their series with the Rangers that begins tonight. To make room on the roster, the Royals optioned fellow infielder Michael Massey to Triple-A Omaha.
                    Spoiler


                    8/19 -- Brewers lose key member of bullpen: Milwaukee's pitching staff has managed to avoid serious injuries for the most part, but they'll be without one of their key contributors for the remainder of the season potentially.
                    Spoiler


                    8/21 -- Royals to purchase DJ LeMahieu's contract: After a brief stint with their Triple-A affiliate, the Royals are set to add DJ LeMahieu to their active roster as early as Friday morning as they have officially purchased his contract from Triple-A Omaha.
                    Spoiler


                    8/22 -- Cubs snap Brewers' win streak: On Thursday, the Cubs narrowly avoided becoming the first team since 2006 to get swept in a five-game regular season series, when the Red Sox were swept at home from August 18th through the 21st, which included a twinbill on Monday that they lost both ends of.
                    Spoiler

                    Comment

                    • Working...
                          Royals 40-Man Roster (Updated: August 22nd, 2025)
                          #PITCHERSPOSB/TAGEHTWTSCHOOL
                          24Michael LorenzenRHPR/R01/04/926'3"215CS Fullerton
                          30Kyle Wright*RHPR/R10/02/956'4"200Vanderbilt
                          32Stephen Kolek*RHPR/R04/18/976'3"210Texas A&M
                          36Bailey FalterLHPL/L04/24/976'4"205Chino Hills (CA) HS
                          38Ryan Bergert*RHPR/R03/08/006'1"210West Virginia
                          41Daniel Lynch IVLHPL/L11/17/966'6"190Virginia
                          45Taylor ClarkeRHPR/R05/13/936'4"210College of Charleston
                          46John SchreiberRHPR/R03/05/946'3"220University of NW Ohio
                          48Alec Marsh (IL-60)RHPR/R05/14/986'2"220Arizona State
                          50Kris Bubic (IL-60)LHPL/L08/19/976'3"220Stanford
                          52Michael WachaRHPR/R07/01/916'6"215Texas A&M
                          53Carlos EstevezRHPR/R12/28/926'6"275None
                          55Cole Ragans (IL-60)LHPL/L12/12/976'4"190North Florida Christian HS
                          56Hunter Harvey (IL-15)RHPR/R12/09/946'3"175Bandys HS (NC)
                          58Luinder AvilaRHPR/R08/21/016'3"195None
                          60Lucas ErcegRHPR/R05/01/956'2"215Menlo College (CA)
                          61Angel ZerpaLHPL/L09/27/996'175None
                          62Jonathan Bowlan*RHPR/R12/01/966'6"260Memphis
                          64Steven Cruz (IL-15)RHPR/R06/15/996'7"235None
                          65Noah CameronLHPL/L07/17/996'3"220Central Arkansas
                          66James McArthur (IL-60)RHPR/R12/11/966'7"230Ole Miss
                          67Seth LugoRHPR/R11/17/896'4"225Centenary College (LA)
                          87Eric Cerantola*RHPR/R05/02/006'5"220Mississippi State
                          #CATCHERSPOSB/TAGEHTWTSCHOOL
                          13Salvador PerezC/1BR/R05/10/906'4"240None
                          17Luke MaileCR/R02/06/916'3"225Kentucky