MLB2K11 Franchise Progress

[cubsfan203]

After having a 7 game winning streak against some weaker opponents, my Rangers have gone 2-5 the past 7 games. We lost the series against the Royals, who have the worst record in the MLB, and the Rays who are sitting right around .500.

I'm at June 2nd, and really looking forward to the draft.

[mjcole89]

I'm thinking about starting up a franchise to update on here with the Braves. With all their young talent mixed with their vets, I think it'll be a lot of fun. I plan to play 1 series and sim 1 to cut down on time. Hopefully I can get started on it tonight.

[philliesfan136]

Wanted to rebuild the Astros but didn't want to make too many moves.
I'm pretty happy with the way the team is looking right now, but it still might be a while before they're successful. I'm liking the idea of working with younger guys like J.D. Martinez and Shuck to see how they progress.
I didn't want to change too much to the team, as I do in other franchises, so like I said, it might take awhile.
Right now, this is how we're looking:

Houston Astros Depth Chart - 2011

• Catcher
• Wilson Ramos
• George Kottaras

• First Base
• Brett Wallace
• Kila Ka aihue
• George Kottaras

• Second Base
• Jose Altuve
• Mike Aviles
• Jimmy Paredes
• Jason Bourgeois

• Third Base
• Mike Moustakas
• Mike Aviles
• Jimmy Paredes

• Shortstop
• Zack Cozart
• Mike Aviles
• Jimmy Paredes

• Left Field
• J.D. Martinez
• Jason Bourgeois

• Center Field
• Jordan Schafer
• Jason Bourgeois

• Right Field
• J.B. Shuck
• Jason Bourgeois

• Starting Pitcher
• Ian Kennedy
• Gio Gonzalez
• Jordan Lyles
• Henderson Alvarez
• Bud Norris

• Relief Pitcher
• Mark Melancon (SU)
• Sam Demel (MR)
• Jensen Lewis (MR)
• David Carpenter (MR)
• Tyler Walker (MR)
• Aneury Rodriguez (LR)

• Closer
• Sergio Romo (CL)

They still might need some work, and I'm not sure if I want all of those guys or if I want to get better players.
I think I'm going to give this team a year and see how it goes.
The bullpen and outfield is the most questionable at the moment IMO. I also am not sure if I should start Altuve or Aviles at 2B.

One last thing I'm not sure about is the lineup.

Right now I have it as this vs RHP:
CF Jordan Schafer (60 con., 47 pow., 86 spd.)
2B Jose Altuve (60 con., 40 pow., 75 spd.)
SS Zack Cozart (60 con., 70 pow., 82 spd.)
3B Mike Moustakas (75 con., 80 pwr., 65 spd.)
1B Brett Wallace (80 con., 65 pow., 55 spd.)
C Wilson Ramos (72 con., 57 pow., 78 spd.)
LF J.D. Martinez (56 con., 60 pow., 72 spd.)
RF J.B. Shuck (56 con., 58 pow., 84 spd.)
P

You know already who is on my bench, here are their stats vs RHP:
IF Jimmy Paredes (62 con., 40 pow., 85 spd.)
OF/2B Jason Bourgeois (55 con., 47 pow., 83 spd.)
1B Kila Ka'ahiue (50 con., 75 pow., 70 spd.)
C George Kottaras (50 con., 66 pow., 66 spd.)
IF Mike Aviles (70 con., 53 pow., 80 spd.)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[philliesfan136]

ASTROS UPDATE: This team is so awful. We are 19-36, 14 games out of the divison. I've only played a few games though, mostly simmed. I'm gonna have to build through the draft and hope these guys get better. There's a lot of young players though, so I'll be a little lenient.

[philliesfan136]

ALL-STAR BREAK ASTROS UPDATE: We're 38-54, but luckily the Cubs have fallen to 36-55. We're also 16 games back, while Chicago is 17.5. It's been a nice improvement, considering how bad we were before. I made trades for Alex White and Chris Sale, so that has definitely made the team better. Unfortunately, we are still nowhere near contention. Some surprises include Jose Altuve (81 G,.273, 14 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 16 SB), Mike Aviles [69 G, .281, 12 2B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 7 SB (yet 8 CS)], Zack Cozart [47 G (he missed a while from an injury) .278, 3 2B, 8 HR, 28 RBI, 5 SB], and J.D. Martinez (85 G, 14 2B, 14 HR, 52 RBI, 11 SB). Starter Will Fukumori, a mid-round pick by the team in the 2011 draft, has been another one of the young guys who has done pretty well (6 GS, 29.1 IP, 3-1, 2.45 ERA, 26 K, 8 BB, .228 BAA). Gio Gonzalez (3-12, 4.47 ERA) has been a major disappointment, though it could be blamed on little run support. Our offense has been in the middle of the pack this season: our team batting average is 16th, our team HRs is 13th, while our OPS is 16th.

The organization's top prospects' stats:
AA 1B Jonathan Singleton: 37 G, .264, 8 2B, 6 HR, 17 RBI
AA 2B Delino DeShields Jr.: 31 G, .288, 2 HR, 12 RBI
AA SS Jiovanni Mier: 32 G, .257, 3 2B, 10 RBI
AA OF Domingo Santana: 77 G, .264, 20 2B, 11 HR, 43 RBI
AA SP Jarred Cosart: 18 GS, 112.1 IP, 7-6, 2.64 ERA, 105 K, .230 BAA

A lot of them have been limited to injuries, but the one who hasn't stands out. 18-year-old outfielder Domingo Santana, who acquired as the player to be named later from Philadelphia in the Hunter Pence trade, has shown some impressive power for a player his age. He could very well move up a level in the next year or two if he continues to hit the way he has.

Needless to say, we're going to have to wait another year. But the future looks promising.

[ChiILL]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChiILL

Season #3. Chicago White Sox. The MLB Roster as of today. Hitters: Adam Dunn 1B Paul Konerko 1B Alexi Ramirez SS Alex Rios CF G. Beckham 2B Brent Morel 3B Brett Gardner LF Nate Schierholtz RF Miguel MOntero C Aaron Hill 2B/3B Scarborough Butler RF (rookie that i drafted rated at 74) Argeniz Diaz SS....(signed to back up Alexi....decent speed....great arm..low contact no power) Ramon Castro C Pitching: Starting Pitching: Ricky Nolasco Mark Buehrle Johnathan Sanchez Jack Peavy Johnny Cueto Relievers: Luke Gregerson Sergio Romo Lucas harrell CHris Sale Joe Sanders Set Up: Matt Thornton Closer: Heath Bell This season the focus is defense and preparing for the future as the players are getting older and trending downward. Matt Holiday contract was killing me and since we got our ring...I let him go while he had value. Below were the moves mad from off season untill now..(a couple weeks before All Star Break) Trades are from recent to old. -John Garland, Sergio Santos for (Reds) Johnny Cueto -Matt Holiday and Tony Pena for (Padres) heath Bell and Luke gregerson =Aaron Hill( Blue Jays) for Lonnie Carlin -(Marlins) Ricky Nolasco vs Carlo Zambrano -(Dodgers) Jon Garland for Michael Young -Tyler Green and Terrence Gathagan for Nate Schierholtz(Giants) Right now...we are one game over Detroit leading the division. Mark Buehrle is one fire. He is currently 9-0 just pitched a shut out with him against the Braves where we won 1-0.

We ended up winning the division. Played the Red Sox in the firstround and won the series in the last game of the series. Next Round was against the Rangers..and I simmed and we advanced.

We are now in our 2nd straight world series appearance and its against...guess who?


THE CUBS!!!!

I only played game 1 so far. It was pretty tough..I won 8-7 in the bottom of the 9th on a throwing error by the CUBS. Peavy got rocked.....and Paul Konerko is in a slump. Diaz is my future at SS he made some great plays and was 3-4. Ramirez will still get the most play this series..since he was an All Star during the season..but he has some great competition at his spot.

[cubsfan203]

Just had my first losing week of the season. We went 3-4 in the last week of May/1st week of June. It took coming from behind in the 9th of the last game, or it would have been 2-5.

Is anyone else finding it almost impossible to hit with mid/high contact guys with no power? I'm only hitting like .230 with Elvis Andrus, and Julio Borbon is hitting a solid .180 in his limited time this season.

[cubsfan203]

The draft is my favorite part of every game it seems, and I just had a hell of a good one in my Rangers franchise. I went into it planning on drafting the best available player in the first round, and after that my focus was solely on relief pitching. As it turns out, every single player I drafted was a pitcher haha.

The Pirates drafted a guy named Slim Carew with the 1st overall pick. He came in as a 78 overall starting pitcher. He's obviously got 5* potential, oh and by the way he's only 18 years old. He throws a 95mph fastball, 92 mph sinker, 91mph slider, a 12-6 curve, and a split change. Needless to say this guy is going to be the best starter in the game eventually. He's already on their MLB roster as a long reliever and is listed as their 4th highest ovr pitcher.

As for my draft, here's who I got...
1. Sergio Campbell - Closer - 22 yo - 76 ovr - 5*
2. Gene Berger - Closer - 21 yo - 70 ovr - 5*
3. Bernard Falu - MR - 19 yo - 74 ovr - 4*
4. J.J. Budde - MR - 22 yo - 69 ovr - 4* (lefty)
5. Dom Hager - MR - 23 yo - 70 ovr - 4*
6. Jody Aceves - MR - 21 yo - 68 ovr - 4*
7. Mayo Figaro - MR - 20 yo - 68 ovr - 4*
8. Rod Del Rosario - MR - 18 yo - 70 ovr - 3*
9. Dane Gossard - MR - 21 yo - 68 ovr - 3* (lefty)
10. Tim Augenstein - MR - 23 yo - 64 ovr - 3*

Like I said, I'm REALLY happy with how it turned out. I managed to get not one, but two 5* relievers out of a very weak draft. Sergio Campbell and Bernard Falu could both be in the bullpen at some point this season. Only problem with Campbell is that he doesn't have overpowering stuff, so he'll likely be a MR which is ok since I have Feliz.

J.J. Budde will be a replacement for Darren Oliver or Arthur Rhodes as the lefty in the pen next season. Hager and Aceves were great value picks for those rounds. How in the world can I NOT draft a guy named Mayo Figaro? The only player I didn't sign was Tim Augenstein.

My organization was lacking at the reliever position BIG TIME, and I managed to fix that with this draft. I have a lot of options now if someone gets hurt.

I was also shocked at how many players didn't get signed. All of the 4* and 5* players did, but there were several 70+ overall players that teams let walk. I did sign a couple, both for depth at a certain position, but mainly because of their names. Check these guys out haha...
Bernie Bhatarakamol: SP
Chick Dotel: SS

and best of all......wait for it.....
OREL BUENO