MLB The Show 24 Franchise Mode Discussion Thread

[UTAllTheWay]

I have decided to start a franchise with the Colorado Rockies. I will be trying to bring them their first World Series Championship!

To start things off, here is the major league roster we will be using:

2024 Colorado Rockies Roster
#	PITCHERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
21	Kyle Freeland	SP	L	30	6'4"	204	10.3M
47	Cal Quantrill	SP	R	29	6'3"	195	6.0M
26	Austin Gomber	SP	L	30	6'5"	220	3.2M
18	Ryan Feltner	SP	R	27	6'4"	190	740K
32	Dakota Hudson	SP	R	29	6'5"	215	1.5M
20	Peter Lambert	LRP	R	26	6'2"	208	1.2M
38	Victor Vodnik	MRP	R	24	6'0"	200	750K
46	Nick Mears	MRP	R	27	6'2"	200	740K
43	Anthony Molina	MRP	R	22	6'1"	170	740K
68	Jalen Beeks	MRP	L	30	5'11"	215	1.7M
59	Jake Bird	SU	R	28	6'3"	200	740K
40	Tyler Kinley	SU	R	33	6'4"	220	2.1M
61	Justin Lawrence	SU	R	29	6'3"	213	740K
#	CATCHERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
35	Elias Diaz	C	R/R	33	6'1"	223	4.8M
25	Jacob Stallings	C	R/R	34	6'5"	225	2.0M
#	INFIELDERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
23	Kris Bryant	1B/OF	R/R	32	6'5"	230	26.0M
44	Elehuris Montero	1B/3B	R/R	25	6'3"	235	740K
4	Michael Toglia	1B/OF	S/L	25	6'5"	226	740K
7	Brendan Rogers	2B/3B/SS	R/R	27	6'0"	204	3.2M
13	Alan Trejo	2B/3B/SS	R/R	27	6'2"	205	740K
24	Ryan McMahon	3B/1B/2B	L/R	29	6'2"	219	9.3M
14	Ezequiel Tovar	SS/2B/3B	R/R	22	6'0"	162	740K
#	OUTFIELDERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
9	Brenton Doyle	OF	`R/R	25	6'2"	200	740K
11	Jake Cave	OF/1B	L/L	31	6'0"	200	1.0M
22	Nolan Jones	OF/1B/3B	L/R	25	6'4"	195	740K
19	Charlie Blackmon	OF	L/L	37	6'3"	221	13.0M

We have a nice mix of veteran players (Ryan McMahon, Charlie Blackmon, Elias Diaz, Brendan Rogers) to go along with some great young talent (Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle, and Nolan Jones).

And we also have some big prospects to look forward to, including:

SS/2B Adael Amador - #27 overall prospect that will be starting the season in AA, and is projected to make the roster in 2025.
RHP Chase Dollander - #49 overall prospect that will be starting the season in AA and is projected to make the roster in 2026.
OF Yanquiel Fernandez - #69 overall prospect that will starting the season in AA, and he is projected to make the roster in 2025.
OF Jordan Beck - #78 overall prospect that will be starting the season in AAA and is projected to make the roster in 2025

That makes four prospects in the top 100, so the future looks bright in Colorado.

To play this franchise, I will be playing 1 game and then quick managing the next 10. I want to try to make it through multiple seasons in this franchise, but I don't particularly want to just sim through the entire thing.

[countryboy]

Cardinals Sweep Reds in Cincinnati

The Cardinals (26-30) swept the Reds in a 3 game series in Cincinnati to begin the week. The have gotten to within 6 games of the Brewers and 5 games of the wildcard.

Nolan Arenado continued his hot hitting in the series accounting for 5 hits and 7 RBIs in just two games. Pitching was solid, especially the bullpen who pitched a total of 13 innings over the 3 games allowing zero runs on just 2 hits.

The Cardinals are off on Thursday as they head to Philadelphia to face the Phillies in a 3 game weekend series against the best team in baseball.

[WillieB1214]

Braves Get Their Revenge, But Fail to Sweep Cubs

May 21-23, 2024

The Braves lost two out of three at home a week ago to the Chicago Cubs, but made their trip to the Windy City a successful one. They won the opener 7-5 in a back-and-forth affair that was highlighted by Huascar Ynoa's first start since 2021 in relief of an injured Max Fried. Ynoa was solid, giving up three earned over five innings while striking out five. The bullpen was hit or miss, with good performances from Reynaldo Lopez and AJ Minter bookended by Joe Jimenez and Raisel Iglesias giving up homers to Miguel Amaya and Cody Bellinger, respectively. Austin Riley, Travis d'Arnuad, and Orlando Arcia all hit homers.

The second game saw the Braves jump out to a 5-0 lead behind an Adam Duvall two run homers, a two double/two RBI performance from Ronald Acuna, and six scoreless innings from Chris Sale. Sale got off to a slow start, but not finds himself with a 3.35 ERA. Tyler Matzek gave up two runs while recording one out, and Raisel Iglesias did give up another homer to Matt Mervis, but the Braves held on despite the bullpen struggles for a 5-3 win.

The third game saw two outstanding starts for Charlie Morton of the Braves and Justin Steele for the Cubs. They combined for 13 innings and only allowed two runs, Atlanta's being a Sean Murphy homer in the third inning off of Steele. The score was tied at 1-1 going into the eighth inning, when Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ hit back-to-back no doubt shots off of AJ Minter to give the Cubs a 3-1 win.

Former Brave Swanson torched Atlanta the whole series, going 7-12 with two homers and a double. Iglesias is up to 10 saves on the season, but has been extremely homer prone. His ERA in 14 innings is up to 5.14 thanks to giving up our homers in the small sample size. The team isn't panicking, but fans are nervous to say the least when he's on the mound.

Atlanta is now up to 33-16 and once again up seven games over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Up next is a three-game road set against the struggling but exciting Pittsburgh Pirates (22-29)/

[WillieB1214]

Atlanta Handles Business, Sweeps the Pirates in Pittsburgh

May 24-26, 2024

Atlanta cruised in their weekend series against Pittsburgh, getting absolutely phenomenal pitching and plenty of offense. Game one featured a "Maddux" as Bryce Elder threw 94 pitches in a complete game, two hit performance. The offense notched 13 hits and five homers (Austin Riley 2x, Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy, Orlando Arcia) in the 10-0 win.

Game two showed yet another sterling performance from Spencer Strider, who threw 7.2 IP with nine strikeouts of shutout ball before Reynaldo Lopez and Dylan Lee completed the outing in scoreless fashion. Riley again found the bleachers, while the team combined for nine hits and five runs in an easy win.

The Pirates finally got on the scoreboard in the Sunday matchup, but Huascar Ynoa showed that he could hold down a starting spot if need be, giving up one run over 5.2 IP. Riley again homered and was joined by Murphy and Travis d'Arnuad there. Raisel Iglesias produced a clean ninth in a 4-1 win.

Riley has been great all year, and his four-homer weekend has him at 28 through 52 games on the season. That total leads the majors by eight over Vladimir Guerrero. Even aside from that, Riley leads the NL in the triple crown categories and is currently leading the majors in OPS by almost 150 points.

The Braves are now at 36-16, sporting the second-best record in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (39-16). Atlanta leads the NL East by eight games over the Philadelphia Phillies, whom they have only played in the opening series and lost two games to one. Up next is a four-game set in Atlanta against the Washington Nationals (22-29)

[WillieB1214]

Good Times Keep Rolling, Braves Sweep Washington

May 27-30, 2024

As expected, the Atlanta Braves took care of business at home and held off the Washington Nationals in three pretty close games. The opener of the series featured an excellent outing from Chris Sale, who held the Nationals scoreless through six innings but did give up the first career hit of super prospect Dylan Crews. The offense as a whole wasn't great, but it was great with runners in scoring position as Austin Riley produced two RBI singles with two outs and Marcell Ozuna did the same. Ozzie Albies produced a homer in the sixth inning as the Braves won 4-0.

Things didn't start out great in the second game with Charlie Morton on the mound. After a clean first inning, Morton gave up four runs in the second, the biggest being a two run double from Joey Meneses. Morton settled in and the Braves battled back, racking up 15 hits and playing just a really good game of baseball to eventually take the lead in the sixth inning on a Ronald Acuna double to score Jarred Kelenic. Raisel Iglesias and the bullpen would hold it down as the Braves eventually won the game 7-5. Orlando Arcia was the star of the game, notching four hits including two RBI and two doubles.

Game three produced the third straight good start from Bryce Elder, who only allowed an unearned run over 6.1 IP. The Braves offense kept plugging away, with the biggest swing being a homer from Matt Olson and a two RBI single from Michael Harris. With the Braves up 6-1, AJ Minter struggled and gave up a pair of runs in the ninth before Aaron Bummer got the final out in a 6-3 win.

The Braves continued the solid pitching in the last matchup with a different version of Spencer Strider, who only struck out four batters but scattered 11 baserunners while allowing two runs in 6.2 IP before the bullpen shut things down. Marcell Ozuna and Orlando Arcia knocked in five runs between two homers from them as the Braves completed the sweep with a 5-2 win.

The Braves have now won 13 of their last 14 games after losing a series at home against the Chicago Cubs, and now stand at 40-16 and are now in the double digits with 10.5 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Next up is a three-game weekend set that includes the return of Max Fried after missing a few starts. Huascar Ynoa performed admirably, but is being sent back down to AAA to make room for Fried.

[bkrich83]

Orioles Drop 4 Straight to Tampa. Rest of Month Doesn't Get Any Easier

Date: June 11th, 2024
Orioles Record: 38-28 (2nd AL East, 2.0 GB of Tampa)
Orioles Last 10: 4-6

The Orioles went in to the weekend trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by just 2 games, and exited the weekend trailing by 6. Tampa Bay hitters pounded the Orioles pitching staff and the O's offense just could not get enough going to overcome the deficits. The Orioles now sit at 38-28 and are in 2nd place in the AL East. The O's are in currently in the #2 Wild Card spot trailing the Rangers and Astros who are both tied for the AL West lead.

It doesn't get any easier for the O's as they hope to have a strong close of June. Their remaining opponents for the month are a gauntlet of championship contending teams. Their remaining opponents this month include Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York Yankees, Houston, Cleveland and Texas.

June 11th Standings Update.

MLB Standings - Updated: Jun 11, 2024
AL EAST	W	L	GB
Tampa Bay	44	22	--
Baltimore	38	28	6.0
New York (A)	38	30	7.0
Boston	31	35	13.0
Toronto	30	37	14.5
AL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Minnesota	46	21	--
Detroit	37	28	8.0
Cleveland	33	33	12.5
Kansas City	26	42	20.5
Chicago (A)	20	48	26.5
AL WEST	W	L	GB
Houston	41	26	--
Texas	40	25	--
Seattle	34	34	7.5
Oakland	26	42	15.5
Los Angeles (A)	21	44	19.0
AL WILD CARD RACE	W	L	GB
Houston	41	26	--
Texas	40	25	--
Baltimore	38	28	--
Detroit	27	28	--
New York (A)	38	30	0.5
Seattle	34	34	4.5
Cleveland	33	33	4.5
Boston	31	35	6.5
NL EAST	W	L	GB
Atlanta	41	24	--
Philadelphia	31	34	10.0
New York (N)	31	35	10.5
Miami	26	39	15.0
Washington	24	41	17.0
NL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
St. Louis	40	26	--
Chicago (N)	38	29	2.5
Milwaukee	36	31	4.5
Pittsburgh	32	33	7.5
Cincinnati	27	40	13.5
NL WEST	W	L	GB
Los Angeles (N)	45	22	--
Arizona	36	30	8.5
San Diego	30	40	16.5
San Francisco	28	39	17.0
Colorado	27	39	17.5
NL WILD CARD RACE	W	L	GB
Chicago (N)	38	29	--
Arizona	36	30	--
Milwaukee	36	31	--
Pittsburgh	32	33	3.0
Philadelphia	31	34	4.0
New York (N)	31	35	4.5
San Diego	30	40	7.5

[WillieB1214]

Atlanta Braves May 2024 Recap

Monthly Record: 21-6
Season Record: 41-16
NL East Standings: Braves (41-16), Phillies (31-27, 10.5 GB), Mets (26-33, 16 GB), Nationals (22-34, 18.5 GB), Marlins (21-37, 20.5 GB)
Offensive Player of the Month: Austin Riley - Plenty of options here, as Ronald Acuna had a really strong month and Orlando Arcia in particular put up good numbers, but Riley essentially kept his extremely high average while still hitting 10 homers as the leader for NL MVP continues to pace all of baseball in multiple categories.
Pitcher of the Month: Chris Sale - Could definitely go with Spencer Strider, who has been the best pitcher in baseball through two months, but we will give the nod to Sale. The veteran produced a 5-0 record in May while dropping his ERA an entire run.
Player That Disappointed: Raisel Iglesias - A solid few outings at the end of the month helps, but despite saving 11 games in May his ERA ballooned at one point to almost six. Those solid outings have it at a more manageable number right now. His leash has been lengthened again some, but it was getting close to a change in the bullpen for the closer role.

Stats

Starting Lineup

Michael Harris: .270/.313/.455 | 7 HR | 18 RBI | 35 R | 14 SB
Ronald Acuna: .298/.382/.535 | 10 HR | 29 RBI | 45 R | 19 SB
Austin Riley: .364/.419/.864 | 28 HR | 59 RBI | 46 R | 1 SB
Matt Olson: .229/.324/.493 | 15 HR | 46 RBI | 36 R | 0 SB
Ozzie Albies: 314/.363/.643 | 17 HR | 44 RBI | 31 R | 4 SB
Marcell Ozuna: .246/.333/.473 | 14 HR | 27 RBI | 30 R | 3 SB
Sean Murphy:.256/.311/.460 | 9 HR | 22 RBI | 20 R | 2 SB
Jared Kelenic: .255/.315/.569 | 12 HR | 23 RBI | 24 R | 1 SB
Orlanda Arcia: .265/.314/.487 | 7 HR | 28 RBI | 26 R | 1 SB

Bench

Adam Duvall: .265/.375/.544 | 6 HR | 11 RBI | 13 R | 1 SB
Travis d’Arnaud: .316/.395/.684 | 4 HR | 14 RBI | 8 R | 0 SB
Jordan Luplow: .211/.302/.237 | 0 HR | 2 RBI | 3 R | 0 SB
David Fletcher: .225/.244/.275 | 0 HR | 0 RBI | 5 R | 2 SB

Starting Rotation

Spencer Strider: 7-2 | 1.60 ERA | 78.2 IP | 99 Ks
Max Fried: 5-0 | 3.65 ERA | 49.1 IP | 41 Ks
Chris Sale: 6-1 | 3.03 ERA | 62.1 IP | 52 Ks
Charlie Morton: 6-2 | 2.71 ERA | 63 IP | 52 Ks
Bryce Elder: 7-4 | 3.43 ERA | 65.2 IP | 40 Ks

Bullpen

Raisel Iglesias: 1-1 | 14 S | 18.2 IP | 3.86 ERA | 15 Ks
AJ Minter: 0-1 | 1 S | 16 IP | 2,81 ERA | 17 Ks
Joe Jiminez: 0-2 | 0 S | 20 IP | 2.70 ERA | 24 Ks
Reynaldo Lopez: 3-1 | 0 S | 34 IP | 2.65 ERA | 42 Ks
Tyler Matzek: 2-1 | 0 S | 19 IP | 3.32 ERA | 21 Ks
Aaron Bummer: 0-0 | 1 S | 15.2 IP | 6.89 ERA | 12 Ks
Dylan Lee: 0-0 | 0 S | 27.1 IP | 0.66 ERA | 22 Ks
Pierce Johnson: 2-1 | 1 S | 29.1 IP | 1.84 ERA | 32 Ks

Also Played

Huascar Ynoa: 2-0 | 3.38 ERA | 10.2 IP | 9 Ks



Thoughts for May: Atlanta ran through the month, as only a home series loss to Chicago was essentially the only blemish. The team was 20-4 otherwise in May, with one of the best pitching staffs and offenses in all of baseball. This team continues to look like the best team in baseball and is hoping to hold off any team wide slumps as the weather heats up. They are clearly pacing the division and it would take something catastrophic to not win their seventh straight division title, even with a lot of baseball left to play.

[Rocket32]

A bit late to joining in on this year’s thread, but finally managed to make a decision. Was torn between the Giants, my Yankees, and the Mariners. Played a few games with each team, and eliminated SF. It was close, but…….fell in love with Seattle.


Mariners Franchise.

Season Preview: After ending a two decade playoff drought in 2022, even winning a series, Seattle saw regression in 2023 as they narrowly missed the playoffs once again, needing a 21 win August just to make it close. Wheeling and dealing followed on the offensive side of things, as the M’s added pieces such as Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco, Luke Raley, and an old friend in Mitch Haniger, while subtracting players like Teoscar Hernandez, Eugenio Suarez, Tom Murphy, Jarred Kelenic, and Mike Ford.

Lineup:
SS JP Crawford
CF Julio Rodriguez
2B Jorge Polanco
DH Mitch Garver
LF Luke Raley (Platoon)
1B Ty France
C Cal Raleigh
3B Josh Rojas
RF Taylor Trammel (Platoon

Bench:
Mitch Haniger (Platoon)
C Seby Zavala
Utility Dylan Moore
Utility Sam Haggerty (Platoon)

Rotation:
Luis Castillo
George Kirby
Logan Gilbert
Bryan Woo
Bryce Miller

Bullpen:
Kayla Phelps (fictional 71 OVR C PO, created just for fun. Why not take advantage of everything new 24 offers?)
Emerson Hancock
Gregory Santos
Tayler Saucedo
Ryne Stanek
SU Gabe Speier
SU Matt Brash
CP Andres Munoz

Season Outlook: An AL West title is a lot to hope for with two powerhouses like the Rangers and Astros inside the division, but a return to October is certainly within reach.


Mariners News:

MLB’s First Female Player To Debut With Mariners:

With RH pitcher Kayla Phelps making the Mariners bullpen, history will soon be made. Can the very soft tossing Phelps hold up against big league hitting and carve out a low leverage role, or will she quickly be headed to the minors never to be seen again? Many believe the latter, but Seattle thinks she can stick around, throwing off hitters timing, having to face off with 100MPH bullets from other RP’s like Santos, Brash, Stanek, and Munoz.


Next Up: Opening Day at home against the Red Sox, Ace Luis Castillo taking the ball against Jordan Montgomery.

(Franchise was started before Monty to Arizona, played some games already, didn’t want to post until I was committed to this franchise.)