D Potential - Any Chance of Improvement?

[Mekias]

I have two closers on the roster.


Closer #1: 72 Overall, D Potential, 20 years old
Closer #2: 74 Overall, D Potential, 21 years old


Is there any chance that either of these two will improve? Or have they already reached their max abilities at such young ages? It seems strange that this may be the case.

By the way, does anyone know what the potential ranges are for each letter grade? For instance, "A" might mean a potential of somewhere between 91 and 99.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mekias

I have two closers on the roster. Closer #1: 72 Overall, D Potential, 20 years old Closer #2: 74 Overall, D Potential, 21 years old Is there any chance that either of these two will improve? Or have they already reached their max abilities at such young ages? It seems strange that this may be the case. By the way, does anyone know what the potential ranges are for each letter grade? For instance, "A" might mean a potential of somewhere between 91 and 99.

They might improve, but if they are at their potential, they will need to increase their potential (generally, via consistent good performance) first to give the OVR (and, thus, their individual skill ratings) a chance to grow without having the abilities "trade points with each other" (i.e. something goes up 1 point but something else drops 1 or 2, etc).

Grade ranges as I understand them:

A: 90+
B: 80-89
C: 70-79
D: 50-69
F: under 50


So it looks like your closers might be "over their heads" in ability.

HOWEVER:

Make sure you are looking at the actual OVR, not the morale-adjusted one. Go to his morale page and look at the base OVR.

Sano for me is listed at 93/B. That looks like he's too high, but his base OVR is 89. He's getting +4 from morale right now.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

Grade ranges as I understand them: A: 90+ B: 80-89 C: 70-79 D: 60-69 F: under 60

One slight modification:
D: 50-69
F: under 50

[HolyStroke3]

I have an 18 year old starting pitcher that is 74 ovr with 75 pot. Kind of unrealistic that an 18 year old is already at his potential, especially when he's already major league caliber at such a young age

Draft prospects definitely need some tweaking

[bobloblah1980]

Quote: Originally Posted by HolyStroke3

I have an 18 year old starting pitcher that is 74 ovr with 75 pot. Kind of unrealistic that an 18 year old is already at his potential, especially when he's already major league caliber at such a young age Draft prospects definitely need some tweaking

Unless you're planning on using him everyday watch that ovr drop like a stone!

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by HolyStroke3

I have an 18 year old starting pitcher that is 74 ovr with 75 pot. Kind of unrealistic that an 18 year old is already at his potential, especially when he's already major league caliber at such a young age Draft prospects definitely need some tweaking

Tell that to Bryce Harper. He was playing everyday (593 AB) in the majors at 19.

He wasn't "at his potential" but he was major league quality.

There have been other debuts by teenagers that have been major league quailty. Heck, Julio Urias is doing it now for the Dodgers. Currently a 4.09 ERA in 33 innings. Small sample, but that's a 97 ERA+, basically league average (slightly below).

A-Rod was 18. Ken Griffey, Jr. was 19. Doc Gooden was 19. Mike Trout, Mickey Mantle...

If you want to quibble about 18 vs 19 - fine. But, to me, the concept is that under-20 debuts can and do happen in the real game.

It would not be unrealistic to leave your player down, but also not unrealistic to play him, even if on the bench.

And that's not going into what his "75" looks like. I mean, Gary Sanchez, Bryon Buxton and Mark Trumbo all have about that OVR (73-75) in my franchise...they are all completely different players with different expectations and roles.

So if I had a 18-19 year old that looked like Gary Sanchez (basically, 50's everywhere except his defense), he'd probably be a 100-150 AB guy playing mostly to give days off and later inning subs. That sounds pretty realistic to me. Sanchez also batted all of .220. Also not unrealistic. If that happened, I'd probably just the kid back down if it kept up over a 100-200 ABs.

Realism also means a lot of different paths and different types of players.

[HolyStroke3]

That's exactly my point. All those guys debuted in their teens and weren't even close to their potential. A 74 ovr 18 year old with 75 potential is basically saying "this is as good as he'll ever be"

I'm not saying he shouldn't be 74 ovr at 18. But if that's the case, his potential should be higher

[HolyStroke3]

Looking at it from a "real life" perspective, because real prospects don't have a set numerical "potential rating" I guess he could be a case of highly touted prospect who never developed. From that aspect I'm okay with his ratings

I guess I have to pretend he has big upside (that he likely won't fulfill) rather than knowing he has low potential because his rating says so